Weekly Therapy

Weekly Therapy: Totally allergic to the outdoors

- Mel

the week:
The long weekend and a face punch of allergies really did a number on me this week. I’m trying to reserve all the energy I can harness for my race this weekend. And deal with all these patchy dry spots on my face from the excess rubbing, dripping, and tissue chafing (WTF?!)

weekend:
Saturday morning, I’ll be running my first race in Iowa β€” and my fifth half marathon β€” Dam to Dam. Tonight after work I had to drive downtown to pick up my bib and free swag. I’m still not downtown a lot, and I have zero clue which streets are one ways (let alone having any idea how to enter the parking ramps), but I did it all by myself.

And then, chocolate milk. And then and then, Jethro’s BBQ for brunch.

seven things, seven days:
1. I made my first microwave mug cake β€” it was gluten-free and it was delicious!
2. Oh hey, my job role changed again this week. Β―\_(ツ)_/Β―
3. Making a goal of wearing my hair down more often and IDGAF if it’s perfect anymore. It won’t ever be, so I’ve just kind of embraced the mess. #growingup
4. Signed up for my first golf lesson!
5. So, hard soda is a thing here. But I haven’t found a brand that’s gluten-free. WHOMP.
6. As I’m making sure that I’m properly hydrated for race weekend: How much water do you REALLY need?
7. Holy cow, I need to wake up at 4am tomorrow. -_-

Weekly Therapy: 49 weeks left in my 30s

- Mel

the week:
Friday’s Weekly Therapy was disrupted by OUR FIRST IOWA VISITORS!

weekend:
The boyfriend’s parents spent the holiday weekend with us, and we explored some fun things in Des Moines β€” the Downtown Farmers Market on Saturday and Iowa Cubs game on Sunday were big highlights. We definitely crossed a few items off of our Iowa Bucket List!

Mel with Iowa Cubby Bear Des Moines

I get an extra (unpaid, unfortunately) day off today, and we’ll be spending our free afternoon on the golf course with some friends. I’M DRIVING! πŸ˜‰

It looks like the rain is holding off until tomorrow, too β€” yay!

seven things, seven days:
1. This article spoke right to my soul: Why some people find crowded cities relaxing β€” and others don’t. I’m definitely in that latter category! Constant horn honking is decidedly UN-relaxing to me. {via City Lab}
2. I ordered fried chicken tenders in a restaurant this weekend AND THEY WERE GLUTEN FREE. Imagine that, a food place that uses gluten-free breading for all its fry stuff. OMG, going here forever.
3. 7 ways to re-motivate yourself at work {via Entrepreneur}
4. UGH. The foul reign of the biological clock {via The Guardian}
5. I know that I’ve always hated the reference to derby “girls” but this goes much deeper by way of books What does it mean when we call women “girls” {via LitHub}
6. I don’t consider myself a Millennial, but if you’re in your early 30s, you may: The anxiety of the Millennials {via Huffington Post}
7. A good run is always amazing: Neurologists explain the mind-clearing magic of running {via Science of Us}

Weekly Therapy: 51 weeks left in my 30s

- Mel

the week:
I had two full days of training at work, so my week just FLEW by!

And, YAY! I got a new bike β€” 600+ miles of Iowa trails, here we come! We also signed up for our first group trail fun ride in June β€” the BACooN Ride (where BACON meets the Raccoon River Trail) β€” so I am fully outfitted and ready to explore.

weekend:
We live in a front license plate state, so I need to take my car in this morning to get my front plate mounted. The dealership is also charging us an OUTRAGEOUS amount of money to update the maps on my GPS (like, holy shit, they’re sticking in an SD card WHY CAN’T A SATELLITE DO THIS). All I’m saying is that it sure as shit better locate my house when it’s uploaded.

ANYWAYS.

Otherwise, we have a pretty laid back weekend. Last night we got to hang out with our neighbors for a bit because it was SUCH a beautiful night. I’m pretty jazzed about the weather report in general this weekend, and we’ll probably go for a bike ride.

seven things, seven days:
1. My workplace has a corporate library, which we can reserve from a great selection of business-themed and popular book titles. And they deliver it right to my desk!
2. Everything is SO GREEN right now, including the farm crops around us. Daily, I just feel so happy with where I live.
3. I finished Leah Remini’s Troublemaker β€” it was a really engaging story, with all the gossipy celebrity juice you’d expect from someone who attended Tom Cruise’s wedding. I’m obsessed with the Scientology survival stories, and it’s a pretty incredible read from someone who went into the church so young.
4. Man, I just had another awful online shopping experience with a furniture company that I love and have shopped with for over a decade (AND have their dumb store credit card). Needless to say, I have to now find another living room side table somewhere else. #grumpy
5. Oh, HEY! Roller derby article in Shape magazine: How Roller Derby Helped Me Finally See Myself As An Athlete
6. The unhealthy truth behind “wellness” and “clean eating” {via Vice}
7. Spinning: You’re doing it wrong {via Indoor Cycling Association}

Weekly Therapy: A fine wine, I’m 39.

- Mel

the week:
YOU GUYS. MY PINK CHAIRS WERE DELIVERED. The ones that I just ordered on Monday from Wayfair. On top of all my birthday surprises from the boyfriend (and my furbabies), this was seriously the BEST WEEK.

grumpy cat bday older

But if we’re being super serious, despite some of the shitty and sad stuff, this has really been a good year. And I’m happy that you are here to celebrate all these memories of my 30s with me.

weekend:
Hey, I’m volunteering at the 80/35 Invitational this weekend β€” a tournament hosted by Team United in Des Moines. You should come out and watch some roller derby!

Birthday week is coming to a close, but here’s the run-down of my week of surprises, aka:
seven things, seven days:
1. My boyfriend special-ordered a gluten-free carrot cake from Sweet Rewards (and even got some candles, so that I could make a wish).
2. An emerald necklace (from the cats, ahem)
3. A gift card to LifeSpa (boy, do I need a massage!)
4. WINE CLUB MEMBERSHIP to Plonk (ALL THE CABS!)
5. This hilarious t-shirt from Raygun
6. This hilarious t-shirt from Raygun (from the cats)
7. And this hilarious t-shirt from Raygun (he’s so silly that he individually gave me one each day, for the last 3 days. I love punny localized t-shirts!)

Bonus: My mom sent me flowers that arrived on my birthday.

Weekly Therapy: The light at the end of the tunnel is not an illusion. The tunnel is.

- Mel

Oh man, the statement in the title of this post from my yoga instructor hit me right where I needed it at practice this week.

the week:
This week, I discovered that May Day is a thing. Did you celebrate May Day when you were a kid? My coworkers were telling me all about the “random and anonymous acts of kindness” associated with this holiday when they were kids in Iowa, and it sounds very nice! (We got free candy at work because of it.)

weekend:
Since my birthday is on a Monday (boo!), we’ll be out getting the b-day shenanigans on over the weekend. Boyfriend tells me that I have a WEEKS WORTH of surprises that start on Saturday. In all honesty, I really don’t like surprises, but in this case: GIVE IT TO ME.

This weekend, the weekly Downtown Des Moines Farmers Market opens; Des Moines Social Club is hosting a Food Truck Throw Down; and it’s also Tulip Time in Pella!

Wow, what great Iowan folks to schedule three wonderful events around my birthday celebrations! πŸ˜‰

seven things, seven days:
1. We got a Roomba, and the reception of it on behalf of the cats is mixed (I don’t think there are any youtube videos in our future). Though *I* am thoroughly impressed by this thing.
2. My bottom front teeth were SUPER sensitive last week, and I never listen to my body cues when I know it’s getting sick (spoiler alert: I’m getting sick). But I’m completely serious about the teeth sensitivity thing; happens every single time.
3. I seriously worked for 40 minutes straightening a drawstring in a pair of my casual pants BECAUSE IT’S THE ABSOLUTE WORST. And when I got *almost* to the end, I realized that it’s sewn in twisted, and I can’t fix it! Gah.
4. A follow-up Trunk Club shipment came, and I have a new stylist (already), and it was worse than the first one.
5. I spent a few hours reading my old, dead blog. I feel like I used to be a much better writer (and a helluva lot funnier), and I wish I could harness some of that again.
6. Putting work in its place β€” don’t fall for the anecdotal fallacies! Also, it’s OK to not have a “calling” or to be passionate about work and it’s OK to choose the paycheck, k? WE ALL WORK FOR MONEY. {a great piece via The Manual}
7. May is Skin Cancer Awareness Month, so PLEASE make sure to read up on warning signs and symptoms, and schedule your annual screening! This is very near-and-dear to me, considering that I had skin cancer in my 30s (and my future odds at being cancer-free are not good) and one of my closest friends just passed away in March at age 40 from melanoma.

Weekly Therapy: Let go of anything that no longer serves you (or just yell at it until it goes away).

- Mel 1 Comment

the week:
Guys, I spent a decent portion of the week fuming about something. I needed to just let it go (after uncovering WHY it made me so angry). And then something else made me really mad. And, well, I guess I’m just having that kind of week.

weekend:
Welp, I was supposed to run a marathon this weekend (those plans obviously went under a few weeks ago). And then I was supposed to go to my first derby practice here on Sunday (but it got canceled). So, now the boyfriend and I are going to hit up the Junk Jubilee though at the Fairgrounds though! Something there is sure to piss me off.

seven things, seven days:
1. Our department at work celebrated National Pretzel Day. It was awesome. (I brought gf ranch pretzels to share, and everyone seemed to like them!)
2. I also made a new friend at work. She and I started on the same day, with the same placement firm (though we’re on different teams), and we made plans to have lunch together. And she’s trying to talk me into going salsa dancing. (YAY, FRIENDS!)
3. I was seriously surprised at how cute some of the Victoria’s Secret sport clothing line was! Now, I just wish they’d bring back my favorite IPEX wireless bra.
4. I spent an evening trying to relax in my bathtub (because I now have a beautiful jetted tub in which to relax), and it was basically a big fail. A very, very bubbly fail… but FAIL, nonetheless. #cantrelax
5. Want to get in the best of health? YOU GOT ONE MINUTE? {via Science Daily}
6. YASSSSS!!! At 100, she’s still running for her life {via NYT}
7. MORE YASSSSSS on all the badass women: Weightlifter Mattie Rogers Poised to Become USA’s Badass Olympic Sweetheart {via Bleacher Report}

Weekly Therapy: Seriously, these sunrises and sunsets never get old!

- Mel

the week:
After a week of bad shoe rubbing and heel AND toe blisters from work shoes (FLATS, no less), I am COMMITTED to only buying and wearing shoes that feel good. In two different orders, I purchased seven β€” yes, SEVEN (two different orders, aka: post-work breakdowns) β€” pairs of “comfort brand shoes” from Zappos (who have an amazing return policy, so I wasn’t nervous). I know that this sounds wholly gratuitous, but it’s solely out of desperation. I have hit my breaking point in wearing uncomfortable shoes β€” and I freaking drive to work now!

I have expressed my love of Cobb Hill shoes, but I wanted to branch out and try some others. Yes, a couple pairs of this order were Cobb Hill (I hate change!), but I also bought a pair each of Clarks, Born and Earth. I can tell you that the Clarks already went back because they rubbed the inside arch of my right foot. Sad, because they were super cute and had two-color leather uppers, which are SO hard to find!

More later on this madness.

weekend:
We’re going to Boone, Iowa for a KCBS competition and a “BBQ Cruise & Brew” β€” doesn’t that sound very Midwest?

seven things, seven days:
1. I pulled the trigger on Trunk Club {referral link!}, since I need new denim and seriously don’t feel like shopping for work clothes right now. I’m excited to get my first box! Maybe this is it for shopping then this season. Aside from my birthday Fix.
2. Jeopardy is on at 3:30 in the afternoon in Des Moines β€” so monsters (in the form of TV schedulers) are real, you guys!
3. Is it legal to murder your washer and dryer because of the dumb 30-second song they play at the end of a cycle? Asking for a friend.
4. What’s that saying about listening to lazy workers to learn about efficiency? Here’s the Lazy Way to kill bad habits.
5. NEED THIS: Wage gap alarm clock. They’re not actually being produced, but some amazing ladies like my needs-to-be-bestie Shonda (*wink*) got a prototype.
6. Dang, this makes me miss spinning so much! (I have the classes available at Life Time, but haven’t fit them into my schedule yet… soon!)
7. Sorry to end on such a sad note, but I’m sincerely bummed about Prince’s death. Here’s my favorite song β€” ugh, these lyrics are perfection:

Sunday Lately for this 30-Something:: Week 68

- Mel 3 Comments

Blogger Tribe_Sunday Lately It’s Sunday morning and the Blogger Tribe is collectively sharing their Sunday Lately posts. Sunday Lately is a weekly linkup hosted by the Blogger Tribe (lead by Angelica, Meghan, Nicole, and Katy). The prompts for April 17 (Week 68), are:: Creating, Finding, Switching, Forgetting, Craving.

Catch up and read all of my past Sunday Lately posts and join camp with the Tribe on Facebook!

Creating:: This morning, I’m creating something for a Hangover Cure. WOOF. It was a VERY good bottle of wine though.

Finding:: I’m discovering a really different work culture here, in that a LOT of people start early (like, 7am early) and end early. My current shift is 8am-4:30pm, and I do have the option to adapt it to my schedule. At first, I was nervous starting so early (and because of my tendency to stay up WAY later than my bedtime), but if I start any later, I’ll be the last man in the dang parking lot! I asked the boyfriend, and he says it’s pretty similar at his company, too. I’m still finding myself adjusting at all the earlier TV schedules too. Let’s call it: Central Time Culture. If I eventually adjust, I might start working at 7:30 β€” just because getting out of work at 4pm sounds amazing.

Switching:: I’ve been cleaning up my Pinterest boards, in anticipation of receiving a Fix from Stitch Fix next month {affiliate link!} for my birthday. And WOW, has my style changed over the last couple years! It seems that I’ve come full circle though, switching back to my “signature style” of fitted jackets and cardigans over tailored pants or straight-leg denim (would you call that menswear inspired? Classic?). I would also like more hot pink for Spring, Stitch Fix. kthxbai.

Stitch Fix shoes 30-something
Have you received shoes in your Stitch Fix yet? I got these awesomely-bright Nine West flats this month – LOVE!

Forgetting:: Speaking of birthdays… yeah, it’s probably intentional that I keep forgetting that my birthday is next month. But since my boyfriend brought it up, we’ll be making some fun plans in downtown. I would truly like to forget how old I’m going to be β€” but I think turning into the LAST year in my 30s (*gasp*) is something to celebrate and not fret about anymore.

Craving:: Well, it’s PMS time for this 30-something, and my usual monthly All Things Sugar craving is at its peak. This also means that I’m probably going to have my period for my birthday next month. Ain’t that a bitch! -_-

Weekly Therapy: Blogging for Happy Hour

- Mel 1 Comment

the week:
WHEW. We made it, guys! Who’s ready for some wine? *raises hand*

I think I’ve finally found my new work-personal time groove this week, which means that I can start fitting in other things like socializing and working out with regularity. AHEM.

weekend:
I still need to wash my car… SERIOUSLY. And if the license bureau is open, I need to do that, too. We have a date night dinner scheduled with a few other couples (connections through boyfriend’s work), but my To Do List is seriously stressing me out. I have a lot of items labeled “return.”

seven things, seven days:
1. Special delivery from Bake Me Happy GF in Columbus. My lunch breaks just got more nom-tastic.
2. Even though I went on a little bit of a shopping binge after moving, I still have a nice extra padding in my accounts. I don’t know about you, but that always makes me feel so relieved to be on top of things financially.
3. HOLY HOT YOGA. I joined Life Time Fitness, and there’s a hot vinyasa flow class on Wednesday nights. The instructor is amazing, and my arms and shoulders are crapped TFO.
4. Have you tried out the new Goals app in the Google Calendar? I was really excited about it, until I realized that it was scheduling all my workouts when I was scheduled to be at work (and my work schedule is inputted as “busy” on my calendar). Hopefully, that will get fixed and/or it will learn my habits.
5. Instagram is ruining your vacation. Mmm-hmm. {via Backchannel)
6. It hurts because it’s true: Being tired isn’t a badge of honor β€” and it kinda makes you act like a dick {via Signal v. Noise}
7. 14 hikes for anyone in Iowa β€” I can’t wait to get out there and start exploring!

Weekly Therapy: So. Windy.

- Mel 3 Comments

the week:
SUPER stressful week, but I got some great news: I got a new job! So, I’ll be wrapping up my contract work with my Pittsburgh company. I have Iowa plates for my car. We also finally finished the transfer of our house in the Burgh, so we’re back to owning just one house (ha!) and I guess that officially completes our Pittsburgh chapter. Now, I just need to update my driver’s license.

mel_pappajohn statue des moines
Last weekend, we finally visited the sculpture park in downtown Des Moines.

weekend:
I’ve let a lot of things lapse since moving: sleep, my diet, exercise…

So, this weekend, I will REST (and probably hang some shit up on my walls). And NO GLUTEN. I cheated last weekend (BRUNCH!) for only the 2nd time in a little over 2 years, and have slept more hours in a week than I did for the entire last year [end hyperbole, BUT STILL β€” like, 9pm complete crash times every night]. My body completely and totally rejected my lapse in judgment on my diet. And gave me my first awful canker sore in 2 years, too. I’m sure it’s no coincidence. If I get an eczema outbreak, I’m going to be so mad at myself.

Ok, Ok, so we’re going to do ONE event this weekend: There’s a roller derby bout in West Des Moines that we’re going to check out!

seven things, seven days:
1. I keep putting too much trust in myself, not using GPS when I’m driving around. And welp… I’m LOST. Seriously. From the same parking lot three times this week.
2. One of my cats started recently begging for food at his feeding time and OMG the ADORBS mews on him.
3. I took one of those wine subscription quizzes that results in suggestions to purchase β€” and answered differently each time to get unique picks. Wellll, NOPE. Same.exact.selections. That’s some bullshit.
4. Do you ever buy furniture online? I’ve purchased our sectional online at a discount outlet, our sofa on Amazon (yes, really!), a large corner chair on Wayfair, and two side chairs from Home Decorators online (only those last two items I’m still waiting to be delivered). We were looking for budget pieces because of the cats, but I’ve been incredibly impressed with the quality!
5. ahhhhhhhhhh! I just realized that my birthday is a month away. :-/
6. I got my treadmill delivered this morning! Now, NO EXCUSES to get a couple short runs in per week.
7. 10 reasons why you should run the IMT Des Moines Marathon! (I’m signed up for the half!)