Sunday Lately for this 30-Something:: Week 67

- Mel 2 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 10 (Week 67), are:: Doing, Appreciating, Designing, Humming, Expecting. Read my past Sunday Lately posts and join camp with the Tribe!

Doing:: Um… my taxes. Talk about last minute!

Appreciating:: Is it terrible of me to appreciate that I’m not in Pittsburgh or Cleveland right now dealing with all that snow? (It’s going to be in the 60s here today.) 😛 #sorrynotsorry

Designing:: Today, we finally are getting some of our artwork up on the walls. I’ve been planning out the wall designs in my head (and positioning frames in rooms where I think things will work). But the real design test will be limiting the number of holes in the drywall when inevitably, I change my mind.

Humming:: Did you watch the American Idol finale? In one of the medleys (with previous contestants), they sang Meghan Trainor’s song “NO.” That was the first time that I’d heard it, and, well, I’m obsessed.

PS: I haven’t watched American Idol in YEARS, but fun fact: I worked behind-the-scenes during Season 4’s Cleveland auditions (I think it was 2005). It’s pretty cool to have been part of such a historical show — I mean, look how many talent reality TV programs exist now!

Expecting:: Another crazy week! But once again, my weekly goals include keeping on a regular workout schedule. Having a treadmill at home now, I’m hoping to use before work a couple times per week.

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 — 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 — 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!)

Dam to Dam Half Marathon: 9 Weeks Away!

- Mel 3 Comments

Jumping back into my half marathon training schedule. I’ve decided to use Hal Higdon’s Novice 2 program again for this race. Again, of course, is used loosely, as I have *yet* to follow a prescribed training program (and I’m already a few weeks behind). Be that as it may, I’m determined to make this training better than in the past.

The Dam to Dam Half Marathon in Des Moines is on Saturday, June 4, so only 9 weeks away! I typically structure my training program for Sunday races, but ultimately decided to maintain a Monday-Sunday training schedule and keep my accountability posts in line with that.

This week of the program calls for one cross-training workout, two 3-mile runs, a 4-mile run and a 6-mile long run. Since I’m “easing” back into this, I opted to do a walk for my first training day in place of one of the 3-mile runs.

MONDAY: 2-mile walk around my neighborhood. I was mostly curious how many miles that I could get in my development before getting bored and to get a look around the entire sub, and looks like I can probably do 3-4 miles before I start getting sick of seeing the same houses. I have access to trails nearby, but there’s one stretch of road without sidewalks to get to them that could be challenging. I was happy to get out and moving on such a beautiful day though!

I followed up my walk with some core work on my exercise ball and push-ups in my HOME GYM (So excite! It will soon have a treadmill, too!).

TUESDAY: Rest Day

WEDNESDAY: One hour of yoga at Life Time Fitness (they call it Yoga Roots; warm but not hot). I took advantage of the class with a free day pass, and the facility here is super nice. There are a few different levels of yoga classes, too, but I opted with a beginner’s session to get acclimated to any changes in flow and poses (and there were a few that tripped me up). I hadn’t had a regular room temperature class in a while either!

THURSDAY: RUN 3 miles (actually 2.96, dammit!) — I started off WAY too fast and like I was ready to anger-run, but I was able to reel it in after hearing my time at my 1 mile mark from my MapMyRun app. I mean, I WANT to run faster, but I also need to be able to sustain a pace. Unsurprisingly, I was bored with my neighborhood after 2 miles and circled around my block like a crazy, lost person to finish it up. I will definitely need to change things up!

I posted this to Instagram, and you wouldn’t believe it if I didn’t track it:

Yes, a 3-mile neighborhood route in Iowa is hillier than my same-distance neighborhood route in Pittsburgh. I was surprised, too!

[splits: 8:46/9:18/9:18 // average: 9:07]

I followed up my miles with another quickie push-up workout. By the way, I’m still doing my hip strengthening movements every day! Also, also: I officially joined Life Time fitness, so I see more classes AND social run group in my future.

FRIDAY: I ended getting super bogged down with work stuff and worked a little longer to get ahead of next week’s hot mess of a schedule. I felt super stressed for most of the afternoon, but by the time I started slowing up and relaxing, I was ready for my WINE.

SATURDAY: Rest Day. Today was our day to explore downtown Des Moines! And I can’t wait to share everything that we did.

SUNDAY: Holy, random 80-degree day! Instinctively, I planned a good day to run outside. Today’s plan called for 6 miles, and since the boyfriend went to the golf course, this was a great day for me to get out and explore another route. But mentally and physically I just could not complete 6 miles — I barely cleared 3 (2.94). IT SUCKS. I feel as if I’m starting completely over in my running ability, and I’m completely frustrated! Maybe I can just chuck this one off to the heat or because I waited for too late in the afternoon or because I was basically doing resistance training due to the wind or [leave your excuse here]. UGH. Honestly, I’m really bummed because how did I just do a big challenge race a little over a month ago and be completely deflated and done by 3 miles now?!

[splits: 9:18/10:38/9:47 // average: 10:02]

TOTAL CROSS-TRAINING WORKOUTS: 1 walk and 1 yoga
TOTAL RUNS: 2
TOTAL MILES: 5.90

Sunday Lately for this 30-Something: Week 66

- Mel 4 Comments

Blogger Tribe_Sunday Lately It’s Sunday morning and the Blogger Tribe is collectively sharing their Sunday Lately posts — part of my weekly Group Therapy. The prompts for today, April 3 (Week 66), are: Planning, Loving, Reading, Wishing, Feeling. Read my past Sunday Lately posts and join camp with the Tribe!

Planning: I have plans to meet up with a running group this week! I need to find a new Runners Friends Tribe to help motivate me during my half marathon training and learn some new routes around my area in the process. Planning this into my weekly workout schedule makes it a non-negotiable. I’ve also incorporated into my monthly goals, which I plan to put into a post this week!

Loving: Absolutely loving that I spent nearly 12 hours in bed last night! I was positively exhausted after spending an entire day eating, drinking and shopping in downtown Des Moines. My body needed the rest, and rest I let it.

Reading: “All the Single Ladies” by Rebecca Traister, thanks to Net Galley. Considering the course of this election season and the impact of unmarried women (and being one myself), I thought it would be an appropriate and necessary read. It’s been a little difficult to get into, given its “exhaustive research” (emphasis: publisher), but I think I’ve finally found my pacing with her writing style. This will take me a while to finish though, no doubt.

Wishing: Because I’m currently working from home, I am doing chores CONSTANTLY. Well, mid-week, I decided that I didn’t want to do another day of dishes, and apparently, the boyfriend hasn’t felt like doing them either. So, they’ve been sitting there, piling up since. I wish someone would get all these dang dishes out of the sink already (and I hope that someone is this other person who shares my household).

Feeling: I’m feeling little stressed out just thinking about my upcoming week, to be honest. But reality and “thinking about” are two different things, of which I need to remind myself. Anticipation is not anxiety (repeat).

Weekly Therapy: April’s Fools and a Legacy of Friendship

- Mel 3 Comments

the week:
An incredibly sad start to the week, with news that a friend whom I’ve known since I was 19, died of cancer on Easter morning. She just turned 40 in December and was diagnosed at Christmas with a rare internal melanoma that was already at advanced stages. It’s heartbreaking, especially because we hadn’t seen one another in a while, and also because we had something of a mutual falling out last year. I’m certainly still in shock about it all, and I had planned to go back to visit with her after I got settled. Well, her 2-8 week prognosis just as I moved to Iowa was actually just that two short weeks. And my heart just hurts immensely for her family, while I break because of all the guilt for not getting to her in time. I’m glad for the opportunity I had to reach out and message her before she passed, however. Though we had some unresolved conflict, there was still a lot of love there and expressed. She certainly taught me a lot on how to be a better friend, which is a pretty great legacy to leave behind.

weekend:
I *think* I’ve finally found my groove with workouts this week. I walked two miles around my neighborhood, took advantage of a free day pass at Life Time Fitness (and took a yoga class), and have scheduled runs for Thursday, Friday and Sunday. I’ve connected with someone from the roller derby team here, too, so that I can join in with the group when they do trail skating or maybe scrimmages (I haven’t ultimately decided whether I’ll join derby; I still want to get settled into my new home and job and a new routine first).

The boyfriend and I are *finally* going to explore downtown a bit on Saturday, now that the garage is somewhat organized and clear, and all the boxes are unpacked and stored.

seven things, seven days:
1. No joke, I painted my toenails for the first time in, like, six months. o_O
2. Also not funny: one of my cats has been waking me up every.single.morning around 3:45 a.m. And since I’m working from home, he is one annoying sonuvabitch until at least 2 p.m. WHY IS HE NOT SLEEPING?!
3. I won a $25 gift card from another Iowa blogger to my local Orange Leaf fro-yo place — a magical place that is rumored to also deliver in my area.
4. I think that I was meant to find this article this week: Dying, With Nothing to Say {via NYT}
5. I joke a lot about my insomnia, but the truth is, I am just on a different schedule. And I cannot find any humor in someone snarking on my sleeping habits. So, here’s an article about some good old fashioned Night Owl discrimination (and understanding chronobiology). {via Vox}
6. “It would be boring if it was easy.” Yes, yes, YES! Repeat after me: FAILURE IS INEVITABLE. The hidden psychology of failure {via BBC}
7. Why in God’s name are hangovers so much worse in your 30s?! Here’s some info on that. {via Yahoo Health}

Midwest Nice and Living in Suburbia (aka: Midwest is Best)

- Mel 6 Comments

If you can call Cleveland the Midwest, then I am from the Midwest. I always thought “The Cleve” felt different than the actual Midwest (where I’m living now) — like some amalgam of the casualness of the mid-States with the constant grumpiness of the East Coast. Pittsburgh wasn’t quite the East Coast and definitely not the Midwest. Cleveland should, for real, be its own region — like Pittsburgh: as they call it, simply, The Rust Belt. But I digress…

So, I’m in what one would actually call the Midwest, and I can honestly feel my mood shift to a different place. Everyone is so freaking nice — which has a LOT to do with it. So, I want to be overly nice, too. And more patient. More relaxed. Seriously, it’s the very form of peace I’ve been searching for, for quite a while. Something that the noise of the city and anxiety of its respective lifestyle overwhelmed and drowned out constantly.

I live in the suburbs now, which is also where I am from. Not this actual metro area, of course, but the suburban home in a suburban neighborhood. Granted, I came from a lower middle class upbringing in the suburbs, but a suburb is a suburb is a suburb. We lived in downtown Cleveland for a year+ before relocating to Pittsburgh, where we lived downtown as well for a year+ before purchasing a house on the north side — one mile from the Golden Triangle. We had a few major and immediate lifestyle changes in moving from an urban neighborhood to a suburb, mainly in adding a second car (and its associated costs) to our household budget and not walking everywhere (though my development is quite walker-friendly!). In fact, I’m so suburban now that we have our first Costco membership. And that suburbia privilege was promptly taken away when we threw out the receipt before exiting with our shopping cart full of things. Luckily, EVERYONE IS SO NICE that we were able to wait for a reprint of our order to leave and not be left inside Costco for eternity.

Patient people are everywhere here. Patient people are nice and friendlier than friendly — and willing to help you with anything. I’ve had people who we’ve met once reach out to connect again and make sure that we have a social circle (and quality drinking time). My neighborhood is also surrounded by farmlands, so this is a very different suburbia than what I was raised in. It must add to the charming character of Iowa. And yes, perhaps I could have found something resembling the cozy, quiet lifestyle in suburbia of Pittsburgh (sans farmland). Here is different. Trust. If you’re from the Midwest, then you just KNOW.

Is it my frame of mind? Is it the actual place? Not sure yet. But my head and heart says that I’m much happier than I’ve been in some time.

Pittsburgh Marathon: Training Update

- Mel 7 Comments

I fell completely off the rails on my marathon training for Pittsburgh. Because of the move, I haven’t been able to find my workout vibe — and I haven’t run ONCE in two weeks (ie: since moving here). I’ve only had a handful of at-home workouts in general. Prior to moving, I was already a couple weeks behind in my training program due to feeling burned out after Gasparilla (read my recaps here and here). I thought that I’d be able to make it up after a couple weeks of rest. But I know that’s impossible now.

Regretfully, I’ve decided to pull out of running the Pittsburgh full, and I likely won’t return for the half either (but the latter is mostly for personal things that may force some travel elsewhere). I’m disappointed, especially because it was another opportunity to visit Pittsburgh and run with my friends there. My former neighbors had graciously offered for me to stay in their homes for me to save the expense of a hotel, too, but I’m now burned out on traveling as well.

Moving on: I’m signed up the Dam to Dam Half Marathon in June, here in Des Moines. I’ll also be looking ahead to the Des Moines Half Marathon in October — which I’d like to be my goal race (*2-hour half*). There’s still a chance that I may look into the I-35 Challenge depending on how my training goes and/or if the challenge sells out. Surely, there will be other races to fill in the blanks, but that’s where I’m currently sitting in my training. I am undecided if I’ll attempt another full in 2016, so for now I just need to focus on the half distance and the work that goes into that training.

More updates to come!

Sunday Lately for this 30-Something: Week 65

- Mel

Blogger Tribe_Sunday Lately It’s Sunday morning and the Blogger Tribe is sharing their Sunday Lately posts. The prompts for March 27 (Week 65) are: Completing, Visiting, Repeating, Writing, Scheduling. Read my past Sunday Lately posts and join the Tribe!

Completing: We are finally seeing the end of boxes and packing paper! Most of the interior of the house has been unboxed, if you can believe it. Around our Easter eating plans, we’ll be focusing on the unpacking what’s left in the garage. And then, all those dang boxes will need to be broken down.

Visiting: GUYS. Remember that gluten-free bakery that I was talking about that’s just a few miles from my house? Well, we visited Sweet Rewards Bakery in Waukee this weekend and I got my maple-glazed doughnuts. We also bought a loaf of French bread and a piece of angel food cake. SO GOOD.

Repeating: “I’m new to the area…” — this phrase has been used ad nauseam.

Writing: To-do lists after to-do lists. One for house needs. Another for little things that need repaired or cleaned in the new place. Still another for personal priorities, like registering the cats, and getting a new ID and car plates, and finding a place to get a massage (woof!). Now that my forwarded mail is starting to come to the new house, I realized how lax I was in changing the address on all of my accounts. WHOOPS.

Scheduling: This week, I’ve got the piano tuner scheduled to come back — he says the piano needs more work and he needs to find a replacement string — and our house cleaners will be visiting for a meet-and-greet. I have quite a bit of actual work to catch up on, too. And then I have an appointment with a recruiting firm. Another full schedule!

Weekly Therapy: Found somewhere in between boxes and cat toys.

- Mel

the week:
Movers delivered everything on Monday. New sectional was delivered on Tuesday. Piano tuner was here on Wednesday. I had an interview on Thursday. Errands to run and dinner plans on Friday. This was a little look into how my week was thus far. And a headache today, to boot. I have probably also had too much wine this week.

I have no clue what this label is supposed to mean. ?

A photo posted by Melinda (@melliesmel) on

weekend:
Well, because all of our stuff showed up and I want to get my house in order, I’ll be opening a lot of boxes and trying to clear out my garage! It’s also Easter, and since we won’t be traveling back to Ohio, we’ll be making our traditional foods and having our own fun little dinner party on Sunday.

And there’s still a chance that we might get into downtown. And maybe I’ll actually be able to settle into start a workout routine. I’ll definitely need to open up a new bank account, however.

seven things, seven days:
1. I gained five pounds already. :-/
2. Found a few broken items from the move, but nothing really to make a big fuss (or claim) over.
3. Have I mentioned how windy it is here? It’s really windy. And the thunderstorms are no joke.
4. I also experienced the first statewide weather alarm testing, which… blblblblblblblbbllbbl. OMG. I had no idea it was a random mid-week testing — it’s usually done on a Saturday. I freaked. the eff. out.
5. How much of our personality are we “stuck” with and how much can we change after 30? {via Science of Us}
6. Oooof, adding to the reproducibility crisis in the field of psychology — new research on the theory of ego depletion {via Slate}
7. On “idea debt” and procrastination and such: Stop thinking, start doing {via The Guardian}.

Sunday Lately for this 30-Something: Week 64

- Mel 2 Comments

Blogger Tribe_Sunday LatelySunday Lately is a weekly linkup hosted by the Blogger Tribe (lead by Angelica, Meghan, Nicole, and Katy).

Every Sunday morning, the Tribe shares a small glimpse into what’s happening — and I’m sharing along as part of my “group therapy.” All are welcome, so if you’re a blogger looking for his or her online community, click through and join us in the Blogger Tribe Facebook group, and every week we share our combined thoughts on a rotating theme of prompts.

30something therapy SUNDAY LATELY Week 64

This week’s prompts are: Updating, Remembering, Needing, Wearing, Being.

Updating: I need to get on updating to a new bank account ASAP, else I’ll be without a way to deposit my contracting checks. I think this upcoming week is the time that I need to make a lot of other updates: drivers license, car plates, vet and doctor appointments… Taking advantage of non-traditional work hours right now is imperative before I let procrastination rule my life again.

Remembering: I’m making an effort to remember my surroundings as I’m driving to/from my neighborhood. Thankfully, my phone’s Maps recognizes my house location (my car’s GPS does not). But I’m trying to pay attention and remember which direction takes me where. Admittedly, it’s been a little difficult, since immediately after pulling out of our housing development, we’re surrounded by acres of farmland!

Needing: A good night of sleep. I know there’s an adjustment period upon moving to a new house — getting used to all the different sounds and temperature adaptations and other outside-of-the-bedroom unknowns. I’ve been waking up in the middle of the night, after only a few hours of sleep. I’m also adjusting to a new bed, too, so yeah… I need some more sleep and less anxiety (and probably a less-empty house!).

Wearing: Until our moving truck arrives (which they’ve already said would happen on Monday morning!) and I have more of a social schedule, I’m hanging out in my pajamas and leggings a lot. I’m not mad. 😉

Being: Calm. At least, enjoying the calm before the storm. I am incredibly lucky to already have a friend here, who will be joining me for the movers madness on Monday. I’m done being bored, and once all of our stuff gets here, I will have *plenty* to do.