Weekly Therapy: The past is gone but something might be found to take its place.

June 25, 2016 - Mel

the week:
I’m still struggling with getting my sleep schedule back on track. I wish I knew what threw me off my schedule. Hormones? Probably hormones.

I started watching OITNB Season 4. DON’T RUIN ANYTHING I’M ONLY ON EPISODE 9. I’m binge-watching the remainder of the show today though because I keep catching people talking about it and I have to run in the other direction LALALALALALALA.

weekend:
The Des Moines Arts Festival is this weekend, and last night the GIN BLOSSOMS performed on the main stage. The VIP upgrade was worth it for the free drinks and snacks, but the placement of that section not at all near the stage was a little lackluster because the sound quality/volume was pretty bad. I was impressed how many people were in downtown Des Moines though! And that you can walk around with an open container of vodka lemonade [pick your poison] throughout the festival area.

If the rain holds off for the weekend, we’ll probably ride our bikes back down on Sunday and eat some food truck brunch.

seven things, seven days:
1. I had my second golf lesson this week, which… OMG I’M SO FRUSTRATED BY IT ALL. (But I’m making contact with the ball more often — my primary “play less embarrassingly” goal.)
2. I don’t understand bars that have these tiny-ass drink glasses, and then give you the shaker with the rest of your alcohol in it. JUST BUY BIGGER GLASSES/STOP BEING SO HIPSTER.
3. I started researching grad programs again this week…
4. Have you ever tried to ignore your cat’s bad behavior so as to not encourage said behavior to continue? Have you ever tried to do it at 4am when he’s destroying all the books on your nightstand and OMG JUST SHUT UP AND LET ME SLEEP? Just me then?
5. An interview with one of my favorite people-who-I-met-online about making successful life changes. {via Women’s Running magazine}
6. Signs you’re burning out (and what to do about it) {via Forbes}
7. NO, you cannot eat “whatever you want” and more common running myths {via Well + Good

Sunday Lately for this 30-Something:: Week 77

June 19, 2016 - Mel 5 Comments

Blogger Tribe_Sunday Lately Sunday, Sunday, SUNDAY! Sunday Lately is a weekly linkup hosted by the Blogger Tribe (lead by Angelica, Meghan, Nicole, and Katy). And the rest of us in the Blogger Tribe are sharing our posts today, too. The prompts for June 19 (Week 77) for this 30-Something Iowan:: Doing, Appreciating, Designing, Humming, Expecting.

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

Doing:: I’m finally decorating my workout room! I’ve got my bibs up, my 50 States medal holder and a GIANT corkboard-slash-inspiration board hung… I seriously get so pumped when I walk into this room now. I still need to add another shelf for awards and derby stuff, and maybe include some rods to separate out my medals per race distance, but it’s coming along exactly how I envisioned. Now, to fill out that bib wall…

marathon bib wall workout room 30something

Appreciating:: A DAY OFF. I’m so glad that I finished much on my to-do list yesterday, so that I can legit chill out and read a book today (which I can totally do while the laundry is getting done).

Designing:: Guys, I changed all my living room furniture around again. And took off the slipcover that didn’t look right. I think that I’m finally understanding why the balance was off in the room, and I (think I) finally have some design direction. I really wish that my custom-ordered blinds would get here already!

Humming:: I was randomly in the mood for some old-school The Prodigy on Friday morning, and I haven’t been disappointed one bit revisiting The Fat of the Land. My heart still belongs to 90s Techno/Electronica.

Expecting:: Well, I was expecting to get a pedicure today and the spa canceled my appointment due to a scheduling conflict. >:-( Really bad first impression of this place.

Sunday Lately for this 30-Something:: Week 76

June 12, 2016 - Mel 2 Comments

Blogger Tribe_Sunday Lately Sunday, Sunday, SUNDAY! Sunday Lately is a weekly linkup hosted by the Blogger Tribe (lead by Angelica, Meghan, Nicole, and Katy). And the rest of us in the Blogger Tribe are sharing our posts today, too. The prompts for June 12 (Week 76) :: Planning, Loving, Reading, Wishing, Feeling.

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

Planning:: out my running bibs and medals wall! I’m so excited that I have the space to put up all of my memories in my workout room, and I’ve already made some purchases to help pull this whole thing together. There was a lot of great inspiration out there on Pinterest, and I can’t wait to lay mine all out. I also plan to include some items from my roller derby days. It will be an inspiration wall to hopefully lead to motivation in keeping my new goals on track!

With that, I’m also starting to plan out my training for the IMT Des Moines Half Marathon in October, including finding some run groups and group runs in the area.

Loving:: I am loving the crap (pun intended?) out of my morning coffee routine. So much so, that I find myself willing my brain to sleep with the promise of waking up to the warmth of a delicious black drink. I’m still mostly keeping to my “no coffee after noon” rule at work, but LOVE weekends when IDGAF I’M DRINKING MORE COFFEE.

Reading:: I’m in the middle of two different books right now: In the Name of Gucci: A Memoir (hardcover) and We’re All Damaged (Kindle book).

After finally catching up on my Shape and Running World magazines last night, I’m also reading about some TRX upper body workouts to crank out this week, now that I finally set up the system in my workout room. NEARLY A YEAR AFTER BUYING IT.

Wishing:: that I could figure out my living room arrangement. I spent an hour making minor chair adjustments… and something is just not working. I bought a slipcover for the black leather sofa, but it’s much more blue than gray, which probably has something to do with throwing off the color balance in the room. But it feels haphazard and OMG it’s what I struggled with for the duration of the time in our Pittsburgh house — it never felt right!

I’m considering pulling out the leather sofa to see how the room feels without it (which would then both leave us with less sitting area and an empty space along the window). And then it might be another call into 1-800-Got-Junk. I HAVE NO IDEA.

Feeling:: I’m feeling a little nervous about this bike ride we’re doing next weekend. While it’s a day-long event with multiple stops along the route (BACON!), it’s still 78 miles in total, and uh… I haven’t been on a bike at all this season.

Sunday Lately for this 30-Something:: Week 72

May 16, 2016 - 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 May 15 (Week 72) :: Doing, Appreciating, Designing, Humming, Expecting.

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

Doing:: All weekend, I was volunteering at the derby tournament (hence, this post being late). So, for the rest of Sunday afternoon, I basically did NOTHING. Well, I definitely made a sandwich first… then, nothing.

Appreciating:: I’m still feeling all the warm fuzzies from friends who reached out with birthday wishes. For anyone who has moved to a new city, it can feel incredibly sad to miss out on celebrating with friends (who have likely celebrated with you for past birthdays).

Designing:: a new playlist! Man, I don’t think that I’ve updated my running songs since I ran the marathon. It’s no wonder I’m unmotivated to workout (a big HA! there because we all know the real reasons — my friends Lazy Tendencies and Procrastination). 😉

Have any new, good dance, electronica or remix recommendations that I should download?

Humming:: the jingle for one of my favorite podcasts, We Know Nothing (as sung by Anya Marina, an artist that opened up one of my FAVORITE live show memories back in my Cleveland days — she was on the bill with Greg Laswell and Jay Nash).

At work, I’m allowed to wear headphones/earbuds, so I’ve been plugging back into my growing list of unplayed podcasts. I’ve also been catching up on Nicole Antoinette’s past seasons of Real Talk Radio on my commutes, and have gained much-needed insight into some life decisions that I’ve been struggling to make. I’m pretty sure she’s about to release another new season, so I want to be caught up!

Expecting:: We’re expecting our first guests (boyfriend’s parents) at the end of the month and OMG it’s already halfway through May! I need to start putting stuff up on the walls and figure out my living room arrangement already.

Weekly Therapy: A fine wine, I’m 39.

May 13, 2016 - 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 — 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: Seriously, these sunrises and sunsets never get old!

April 22, 2016April 19, 2018 - 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 — yes, SEVEN (two different orders, aka: post-work breakdowns) — 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 — 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” — 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 — 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 — ugh, these lyrics are perfection:

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Weekly Therapy: That I am extremely hungover on my last day of work somehow explains everything.

March 4, 2016 - Mel

the week:
My last week at my job… at least, on-site. We’ve worked out an agreement so that I can stay on as a contractor until one of us: finds a job (me) or finds a replacement (them). The universe has also blessed me this week, to randomly (and separately) run into people who I haven’t seen in a while. These things have warmed my heart (and will keep my bank account warm as well).

weekend:
Tonight is our going away party, and then I’ll spend my last weekend in Pittsburgh (since we leave next Saturday morning). Yep, I thought two weeks would be SO long to wait out, but it’s positively flown by. I do need to get my shit together this weekend and ship some things out to the new house though, especially now that the movers have confirmed they will not pack/move any opened toiletry item. 😐

seven things, seven days:
1. Uber drivers who let you plug in your phone and pick your playlist are the best Uber drivers! I had our guy dancing in his seat. We had a good time.
2. Furniture shopping is a pain-in-the ass, you guys. And whomever actively promotes a 2-6 week delivery window can burn in a fire.
3. One last visit with friends to one of my favorite restaurants in the ‘Burgh: CURE. *sniff* (And we finally remembered to use our gift certificate from two Christmases ago.)
4. Speaking of tears, I had my first ugly cry about moving this week. 🙁
5. An economics trick that might help you with your motivation {via Quartz}
6. Being a thin person for 97% of my life, this research from the Cornell Food Lab is fascinating! {via The Atlantic}
7. This article had perfect timing for me (and will for any of you who watched the Olympic Trials and/or love to run and/or take same advice for running and life): What Does it Take to Win? {via Forbes}

Sunday Lately for this 30-Something: Week 61

February 28, 2016 - Mel

Blogger Tribe_Sunday Lately Sunday 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 the last week — and I’m sharing along, too, as part of my “group therapy.” All are welcome, so if you’re a blogger looking for his or her Tribe, click through and join us in the Blogger Tribe Facebook group, and every week we share our thoughts on a rotating theme of prompts. There’s a whole lot of chaos lately, but here’s what else is going on in Week 61.

30something SUNDAY LATELY Week 61

This week’s prompts are: Planning, Loving, Reading, Wishing, Feeling.

Planning: THE MOVE! I have to segregate the “essentials” from “non-essentials” in my closet to send to Iowa before we leave AND ship my costume jewelry (I guess movers don’t move that… WHAT?!). Since we’ll be without the bulk of our household for a couple weeks, and will be traveling with three cats (and all their stuff), we are severely limited at what we can take in the car. The next couple weeks will be hectic!

Loving: I didn’t wear most of my makeup in Florida, and I was loving how fresh my face felt (despite its imperfections). This weather is just killing my skin right now! But yesterday, I decided not to wear my BB cream under my powder to see if I can take another beauty product out of my regular routine.

Reading: Gretchen Rubin’s Better Than Before*. I got a little bit of reading done pool-side in Florida last week, but haven’t really dedicated my time to unwinding with a book. So… it’s taken me a while to get into this (so much for better habits! HA!). I *really* wanted to finish it though, but when she started talking about drinking diet soda… I just knew I could no longer connect with her message. I think I’m marking this one DNF and moving on to something else.

BTW, based on her framework, I’m considered an Upholder, which makes my not finishing my review copy a HUGE conflict for me!

Wishing: Honestly, I wish I was in my new house! The boyfriend got to spend the entire weekend there, torturing me with pictures of sunsets in the backyard — and all the windows open because it was 60 freaking degrees in Des Moines! — and his new beanbag chair on the living room floor (lol) and our new washer-dryer set. ARGHHHHHHHH!

Feeling: Sad, but excited! As I mentioned, I couldn’t be in Des Moines with my boyfriend to sign the house papers, so while he’s taking care of all the stressful stuff, I feel like I’m missing out. I even asked him if we could bump up our move a week because I want to be in my new house so bad. I know that’s something I would regret later, though, not taking the time to spend with friends before we go. I wrote my schedule out for the next two weeks, and, um… it will definitely be here before I know it.

*I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.

Weekly Therapy: Merry Christmas, everyone!

December 25, 2015 - Mel

the week:
It was a two-day work week for me, and I cannot explain to you how exciting it is that I don’t have to return to the office until January 4. After the last couple years of working most holidays and/or their surrounding days (including NYE AND New Year’s Day, the day after Christmas, Easter, etc.), this is a special treat this year. I don’t have to rush through Christmas celebrations and travel because of worrying about work the next day.

weekend:
Duh, I’ll be playing with all of my new toys!

52 books in 52 weeks:
#50: American Savage by Dan Savage — I received this book as a Christmas gift last year and it’s been sitting on my nightstand… well, for about a year. I probably would have enjoyed it more last year when I was eager to read it. Overall, I felt the message was pretty redundant, especially if you already read the Savage Love column and listen to his podcast (which I don’t even do either anymore).

seven things, seven days:
1. My friend was kind enough to drop off some gluten-free pizzelles over the weekend, and… OMG I HAVE SO MANY COOKIES.
2. Cookies for breakfast, cookies for lunch, cookies for snack…
3. The party we went to last Friday was seriously one of the BEST parties I’ve been to since moving to Pittsburgh where I knew NOBODY, besides my boyfriend. Every single person that I mingled with was so interesting and friendly. And we all got turns to ride a hoverboard in the hallway.
4. Totally missed the boat on putting a selfie stick on my gift list this year! Dang it.
5. Listening to Christmas music in the shower in the morning has done wonders for my holiday spirit. 🙂
6. James Clear on mental toughness and the Marathon Monks If you commit to nothing, you’ll be distracted by everything. I’ve read about the Kaihogyo 1,000-day challenge before, and I particularly like James’ lessons from which to apply to our own lives and goal-setting.
7. There’s no excuse to be bored? Ehhhhh. How boredom is becoming anything but boring {via Dallas News}

Setting up habits for 2016 resolutions

December 9, 2015 - Mel

You know that saying about not waiting to make changes? How January 1 shouldn’t be the impetus for life changes — and that you should start making good habits TODAY?

Baby steps, people. Yes, I do agree that a date on the calendar is widely misused as a placeholder for resolutions. So whether you decide that January 1 or your half-birthday is the day that you want to set some new goals for yourself, have at it. But real, honest change will come if you start doing something now. Like, NOW now. I’m not saying that your life will instantly change in that moment, but if you want something new or different to take place, do something right this second that leads to that eventual start date.

Say for example that your resolution is to “lose weight” in 2016 — do you have an exercise plan, have you consulted with your doctor, have you researched the monthly cost and/or joined a gym, hired a trainer or nutritionist, pinned some healthier meal options on Pinterest, or thrown out all your gross processed stuff in the freezer? And what does “lose weight” mean? I hope your goal is SMART or CLEAR. I guess there are HARD goals now as well. Do you at least know how to increase your chances at success? Doesn’t it feel SO OVERWHELMING?

Baby steps. One foot in front of the other. One day at at time. Write a to-do list. Buy some new sneakers.

So, yeah, I have goals for 2016 — quite a few, actually. But if I don’t start changing some of my bad habits now, I will be setting myself up for a mess of frustration on January 1. And likely, failure, by March 15. I can’t let my already-good habits go by the wayside either.

An example of my own baby steps? Waking up at my first alarm. NOT sleeping through five different alarms. I’m seven days in! This will lead to a bigger goal. But for now? I get to celebrate some small successes (and hopefully help my sleep schedule out a little in the meantime).

More reading:
Mind Tools has a bunch of articles about goals. Check out this article about personal goal setting. There are some great explanations about the different methods (with more links to further explain) and questions to ask yourself before you get started with the process. And if you have a coach or mentor (or are one), I personally like use of the GROW model.