Random Thoughts Thursday 445

  • I have completely embraced having a quieter social media and blogging presence this year, and it feels good… but a bit odd. I’m a recovering oversharer (can I say I’m in recovery yet?) and while I appreciate the time back from not documenting and sharing so much… yeah, it just feels strange. Like I’m forgetting to do something (but happy I am not at the same time).
  • Something I didn’t share last week – I did my long run on Saturday and felt so good! I rode with Steven to the office and ran home from there, adding in a loop at the preserve to get to 16 miles.

  • Steven started running again a few weeks ago! Exciting! I want to run with him, but still get my marathon training miles in, so we’ve worked out a few scenarios that allow me to do that – it’s basically either me running to the preserve from the house and him joining me later to run, or us driving to the preserve and running together, then me running home while he drives home.

  • Our Europe trip is starting to feel SO real and I’m getting SO excited! A lot of unwelcomed (is it every welcomed?) anxiety was making it hard for me to get excited, but I’ve gotten close enough to the trip now that that’s going away and I am super pumped to see my friends, eat yummy foods, and see several new cities!
  • I’m struggling to learn Dutch by memorization. I do well with an alphabet, formally learning how to conjugate verbs, and knowing the WHY behind things. You can’t just tell me some nouns are “de” nouns and some are “het” nouns and I just have to memorize it (de and het mean “the”). Ha.  I’m trying though! Ik spreek een beetje Nederlands!

Link to Random Thoughts Thursday 444

Random Thoughts Thursday 444

  • I decided to go all pink (well, black shorts) for my May marathon and got these beauties to wear (Women’s Gel-Nimbus 25s)!

  • I’m going to try to keep up my strength class frequency (typically 4-5 classes a week) while upping my mileage for training but we’ll see how realistic that is (likely not very).
  • WWM (my gym) does a March Madness challenge that’s 65 burpees (without the pushup, so not really a burpee, but still) a day. EVERY CLASS. It’s horrible. HORRIBLE.  They aren’t even 65 in a row, but I still don’t want to do them.
  • Dune: Part Two was so good! We’re going to see it again in IMAX. Seeing part two in the theater makes me wish I could have seen part one in the theater. Maybe it’ll come back.
  • I finally started learning Dutch on Duolingo for our trip in April. Not sure why I waited until March to start, but it’s been fun to learn a new language. Steven took German in high school so I asked him to refresh on that.
  • Mani from last week!

Link to Random Thoughts Thursday 443

Reading Update (2024 #13-15)

[13] A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas
Fiction / Fantasy / Romance, part 3 after A Court of Mist and Fury, Graphic Audio

Synopsis: (SPOILERS AHEAD!!!!): Feyre is back in the Spring Court, working as a spy to collect information that will help the fae in their upcoming war with the king. It’s dangerous and risky, but Feyre is determined to do everything she can to protect her court, family, and the human realm.

Review: I switched to Graphic Audio (full cast, audio effects, and music) for this book since it was available immediately, and it was so good. After I got used to the extra noise I was super into it.  I totally buy into their cheesy tagline “A Movie in Your Mind.” I do wonder if I would have enjoyed this book the same if I’d been reading it on Kindle –  the audio added a lot and it may have felt slower on Kindle. All that to say, it was unputdownable. I just had to know what would happen! It is not earth-shattering writing (the author has some repetitive phrases) or super deep, but it’s a lot of fun.

Recommend? Yes

[14] In the Likely Event by Rebecca Yarros
Fiction / Romance / Military, saw on Kindle Unlimited, Kindle

Synopsis: When Izzy and Nate first meet on a plane in 2011 they have an instant connection. Then their plane crashes into a river. Nate saves Izzy’s life, only to be whisked off to start his career in the army before Izzy can say goodbye, and Izzy goes back to school and eventually gets into politics. They have chance encounters over the years, but the timing is never right. Now it’s ten years later, and Nate is stationed with Special Forces in Afghanistan, and is charged with protecting Izzy’s life while she’s there on a special mission.

Review: I have not read a book I have been this in to and not wanted to put down in a LONG time. The chapters alternate timelines until the two stories meet, and nearly every chapter ended with something that made you aching to get back to that timeline. I loved Izzy and Nate and their chemistry, and was 100% invested in their story and them getting together. So so good, definitely a new favorite of mine. I finished this in just over a day! (I do have to say, I struggled to keep Nate’s fellow soldiers straight but that made sense why in the end. Also, a warning that reviewers on Goodreads really hate the exploitation of war in this book – I didn’t read it that way.)

Recommend? Definitely!

[15] A Court of Frost and Starlight by Sarah J. Maas
Fiction / Fantasy / Romance, part 3.5 after A Court of Wings and Ruin, Graphic Audio

Synopsis: (SPOILERS AHEAD!!!!): It’s post war and Feyre and family are getting used to their new lives and preparing for Winter Solstice.

Review: Yikes. This short (well, compared to the others in the series) book felt like a cheesy Christmas special. There’s more character building, and a little to expand the plotline, but there’s just not much there. It’s more of an opportunity to show Feyre and her family living their normal lives and celebrating Winter Solstice. It was boring.

Recommend? No

Random Thoughts Thursday 443

  • Dad and I decided not to do RAGBRAI this year. The course is too far south and too much of a pain to get to. I am 100% okay with that! Hopefully the course makes sense next year. If not? *shrugs*
  • I signed up for the Denver Marathon. Val, Tiff, Steve, and two others will be doing the marathon relay!
  • Is anyone else going to see Dune: Part Two this weekend? We have tickets for Sunday!
  • My poor travel planning (did not get a flight early enough) meant I had to cancel a trip for us to see friends in NC next month. Who knew Asheville was such a pita to get to? (probably everybody) Sigh.
  • Snow Jr has duplicated!

  • I taught a rock painting class at a “Love Yourself” party one of my trainers was throwing for friends and family last Saturday night. Such a lovely group.


Link to Random Thoughts Thursday 442

Reading Update (2024 #10-12)

[10] Go as a River by Shelley Read
Fiction / Small Town & Rural, recommendation from Val, Kindle

Synopsis: Seventeen- year-old Victoria’s life is forever changed after she helps a stranger in her small Colorado town in the summer of 1948. She’s forced to grow up fast and make decisions she doesn’t completely understand.

Review: This is a character-driven coming-of-age story that is absolutely beautifully written, but also completely devastating and sad. I kept teasing Val (who recommended this to me) about how she was in her sad book phase and needs to read a romance.

Recommend? If you are in the mood for something heart-wrenching for some reason, yes

[11] A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas
Fiction / Fantasy / Romance, part 2 after A Court of Thorns and Roses, Audio

Synopsis: (SPOILERS AHEAD!!!!): Feyre has survived the trials from Amarantha and has returned to the Spring Court but is completely traumatized by what she had to do to free Tamlin’s people. She lethargically prepares for her wedding to Tamlin and on the day of the actual event, sends a silent plea for anyone to save her from it. Rhysand, High Lord of the Night Court, uses that moment to enact their bargain and bring her to the Night Court, which she realizes is nothing like the terror she imagined, and neither is Rhysand. Oh, and there’s a lot of other bigger political humans vs faeries and different courts vs each other stuff going on that Feyre can use her powers to help with now (oh! Did I not mention? She was turned into a faerie at the end of the first book after she was killed and all the High Lords gave a little bit of her power to keep her alive and now she has SUPER POWER DUN DUN DUN WATCH OUT FOR FEYRE – she’s coming for you!).

Review: My snis told me this was her favorite book and I could see why – there were so many moments that got me right in my feels! GAH, especially one line in particular from the first book that was brought up again in the second book. And the ending had me so enraged when I was listening to it during my Denver long run. All in all to say, I really enjoyed it. There are parts that I didn’t 100% love – I am usually not a fan of “quest” books or movies, such as “we have to go here to get this thing” and there is quite a bit of that. But I got through it.

Recommend? Yes

[12] The Long Game by Elena Armas
Fiction / Romance / Multicultural & Interracial, saw on Kindle Unlimited, Kindle

Synopsis: Adalyn loses her s-word on the professional mascot of the soccer team she works for (that her dad owns) in Miami and is sent away to rural North Carolina to get out of the public eye. She’s shocked to run into Cameron Caldani, a former soccer professional there, coaching the girls’ soccer team she’s been sent to manage. Adalyn and Cameron have a horrible first encounter and can’t stand one another, but have to work together.

Review: Shame on me for being frustrated with the pacing of a book titled The Long Game. I mean, come on, Kim. I love the enemies-to-lovers trope, and Adalyn and Cameron have chemistry but the pacing KILLED me. And the backstory of the girls’ soccer team was really weak. As was most of the backstory. I finished this book and am still not sure why she took her anger out on that mascot.

Recommend? No

Reading Update (2024 #7-9)

I’m a little behind in my book reviews. I finished reading these a while ago but these reviews take me forever to write because I spend too long on the silly synopses. From now on I’m just going to take my initial stab at it and leave it as is. 

[7] Penelope in Retrograde by Brooke Abrams
Fiction / Women, first saw in First Reads but didn’t get, Kindle Unlimited

Synopsis: Penelope is a romance author who has a strained relationship with her family and is returning home at Thanksgiving to ask them for a favor. Penelope runs into her ex-husband on the way in, and has to deal with her mom trying to set her up with a stranger, and with her twin sister being upset with her for always causing drama when the family is together.

Review: I started off liking this book and how sassy Penelope was, but by the end she was grating on me and I wanted her to grow TF up and deal with things instead of escaping.

Recommend? No

[8] A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas
Fiction / Fantasy / Romance, checked it out because my snis loves it so much, Audio

Synopsis: Feyre kills a wolf that is actually a shape-shifted faerie and a beast comes to her home and demands punishment for it. He takes Feyre to Prythian, where the fairies live, and soon realizes her captor, Tamlin (another shape-shifter), is the High Lord of the Spring Court. Feyre realizes most of what she grew up hearing about faeries is false, and finds herself questioning her hatred for them.

Review: This is my snister’s favorite book series, so I had her input of “you just have to get through the first book,” which is exactly what I did. The story moves a bit slow, and Feyre is kind of annoying and immature, but I was rooting for her and invested in her story by the end and excited to start the second book. I did appreciate the pace when it came to world building and character development. Sometimes I struggle with fantasy book worlds, relationships, and names, when they come at me too fast, but the pacing was just perfect.

Recommend? Yes (because I know the second book is really good and you have to read them in order)

[9] The Improbable Meet-Cute Series
Romance, heard about from @rocknreader, Kindle Unlimited

This series of short stories centers around meet-cute scenarios, I really enjoyed the first three, and the last three were meh.

1. The Exception to the Rule by Christina Lauren 
A relationship forms between these two accidental pen pals who check in once a year on Valentine’s Day. Super cute! Definitely recommend!
2. Worst Wingman Ever by Abby Jimenez
Holly finds an accidental Valentine on her windshield and starts communicating with the person who left it there. Also super cute! Definitely recommend!
3. Rosie and the Dreamboat by Sally Thorne
Rosie and her sister go to a spa for Valentine’s Day and Rosie gets trapped inside a sensory tank and a firefighter has to rescue her. Great banter and humor. Recommend!
4. Drop, Cover, and Hold On by Jasmine Guillory
Daisy absolutely loves the bakery in her neighborhood but tries to avoid going there since the owner is so mean to her. Then finds herself stuck there after an earthquake hits on Valentine’s Day. Meh. Don’t recommend. 
5. With Any Luck by Ashley Poston
The best woman and man of honor lose the groom at a wedding and try to find him. Also something with best woman being unlucky. Annoying and not entertaining. Don’t recommend.
6. Royal Valentine by Sariah Wilson
A royal goes undercover in Rome so she can experience the city and accidentally takes sleeping pills and is rescued by a handsome stranger. Should have been a fun story, was meh. Don’t recommend.

Hey! I do have friends in CO now.

Ahh, I had such a lovely weekend in Denver with Val and Tiff. Coming back to reality is hard! Can’t I spend all of my days feeling care-free with my loved ones? Le sigh. I’ll just have to settle with feeling very grateful for the time we had (which I am).

My week had felt so crazy with work, right up until the moment I left. I listened to a work call in the car, then got my computer out and got on a video call in the airport. Just… no. It shouldn’t be like that. It’s just one of those weeks in a season of blah.

Because I was working in the airport, I didn’t feel any of those excited vibes until I got on the plane* and put my work phone on airplane mode for the weekend. Also because I was working in the airport, I forgot to fill up my water bottle and felt dehydrated and crappy the first half of Friday. Lesson learned.

Anyway.

I got in Thursday evening and after we finally got my bag** we went back to Val’s house for dessert*** and chatting before going to bed.

On Friday we started painting right away (and did a stretch video and had breakfast). I’m teaching a rock painting class on Saturday and wanted to have examples to show the students. There’s something so lovely and relaxing about having a large stretch of uninterrupted time to sit, paint, and chat about whatever. The time stretches and I feel so in the moment. I cherish those times with Val and Tiff. You’ll see from the recap below that that is a lot of what we spent our time doing, and couldn’t be any happier that we did.

Val and I left around noon to get an amazing vegan brunch at Watercourse Foods, then walked to pick up vegan donuts at Voodoo, then went to the grocery store. We’d been planning to walk around a lake but the temps really dropped in the afternoon so we skipped it.


We painted more, then had dinner (I made vegan alfredo), then we painted again, and eventually went to pick up Tiff at the airport. Her flight had been delayed in LA because of snow in Denver. She landed about an hour and a half late, around 9:09, but then she was stuck sitting on the plane until almost 11:00! And it took her forever to get off! Poor thing. She kept apologizing to us but we didn’t care – Val and I got a bunch of steps in in the airport then sat and chatted. I mean, we’re together to do just that, so no bother, other than we felt cheated out of some Tiff time.

We got home past midnight (big thanks to Val’s husband Steve for driving us in the snow!), had pie, then sat and painted a bit, and went to bed past 1:30. I think I fell asleep past 2:00?! Eek.

On Saturday when I woke up I’d gotten less than 4 hours of sleep but my body was ready to be up so I got up and started painting. We painted all morning, then made crunch wraps for lunch, then made a trip to Walmart to get fixatif (and a waterproof phone case for me because despite having two I left them both at home), then I went on my 12 mile run to test out the lungs at altitude.

The start of the run felt hard. My breathing was off and I was like “well, shit, maybe I can’t run a marathon at altitude?!” Then I realized I was going up an incline and felt fine once I got to the top. The run then felt the same as it does in Illinois. I listened to a book**** for most of it, then switched to music for the end and was able to pick up the pace. I was so excited when I text Val and Tiff at the turnaround and they told me they were going to finish with me! They walked 2 miles out then ran the last 2 miles with me. I loved it! I’m so grateful I could get that run in and had nice weather for it (I was going to do it Friday but it was cold and windy and eventually snowy – the snow was all gone from the trails by the time I ran).

Denver Marathon is a go! And Tiff is planning to come out for it. Yay!

When I got back I cleaned up then… you guessed it – we painted! Oh! But Ella had Facetimed me so we all chatted with her and my snis for a bit which was a lot of fun.

We ordered burgers to be delivered for dinner, got back to painting (and starting watching Under the Tuscan Sun) and went to bed at a reasonable time. Go us!

Sunday was the only day we had plans – to get ear piercings! So we had breakfast, did a stretch video, painted, then left to get piercings. Even though I already have my ears pierced (when I was 16, with a piercing gun) and was just getting a second lobe piercing on each side, my body and brain was so nervous! Val and Tiff (and the ladies at the studio) were so sweet to me. When it was my turn the piercer asked if the lightning bolts I chose had any special meaning and I told her “Thunderstruck” is my power song and she asked if I wanted her to play it and I was like “Hell yeah!” and she blasted it over the entire studio and it pumped me up. After that I was giddy. I even gave her a hug (and a rock when I left which she seemed really touched by).


Val and Tiff’s piercings look so good! It was fun to go together. I wish my snis could have been with us (she just got her second lobes too).

After that we got chais then went to the outlet mall and Tiff got a matching Columbia jacket to me and Val (we like to match), then we walked around a beautiful lake and went back to the house and painted.

Then we got to have dinner with Val’s sons! They live north and south of her so one son drove in and rode with us south of their house to meet the other son at Zomo. It meant the world to me to meet her sons. Their family has such a special relationship and I love hearing about them and feel like I know them (I’d even brought a toy for one of her son’s cats!). And I feel like meeting them means I am growing my family a bit too. What a great night.

We got ice cream on the way home then painted and finished up the movie and behaved and went to bed at a reasonable time again.

I didn’t sleep well Sunday night because I’m a side sleeper but didn’t want to sleep on my newly pierced ears. Ugh. I finally figured out a way to make it work but woke up groggy and sad it was our last day together. Womp womp.

We had a lot to do Monday morning though. We resined a lot of our rocks*****, took a bunch of photos of them, had crunch wraps****** for breakfast, and packed (sad face). The morning flew by and before we knew it Val was driving Tiff and me to the airport. We said our goodbyes then hung out until Tiff took off. I’m glad I booked the same airline as her and we got to hang out a bit more.


Then I did a bit of work for Fake Meats, started to catch up on some social media stuff, and boarded my plane. Back to reality!

I needed this weekend so much. I always feel recentered after seeing them, and am grateful I get to so often. And grateful Val has a huge comfortable house with enough space for all of us. And I didn’t even mention how lovely her husband Steve was this entire weekend! (No surprise there – there’s a reason I booked a couples’ trip to Maine last year for us before he and Steven ever met – Steve is just great.)

And I am working on making my BFF Ali (their cat) love me.

When Val and I were driving on Friday (she let me drive her Jeep, woo hoo) I remembered years ago when friends were telling me about going to Colorado often to spend time with friends they had there and I had thought in my head “I wish I had friends in Colorado. How will I ever make friends there though?” Ha, well here we are. Now I have amazing friends in Denver, LA, and lots of cities all over the world. I’m very grateful (and will spend my time thinking about that and not how bummed I am the weekend is over!).

*I flew Southwest and the gal sitting next to me was the last person to get on the plane. She’d never flown Southwest before and didn’t know about the unassigned seats. I felt bad for her – she was so flustered! I told her to use the armrest and tried to give her as much space as possible. Then later she spilled her water on herself and me and apologized profusely. I told her it was fine and gave her a paper towel I’d brought. Really, not a big deal. About 20 minutes before we landed she said to me “thank you for being so kind to me – I’m an anxious flyer and your kindness made this much easier for me.” I thought that was so sweet! I was already planning to give her a kindness rock so I gave it to her then, then we had a lovely chat for the end of the flight.
**I got an AirTag and tried it for the first time on this flight. So when everyone from my flight was gone from the carousel I could tell my bag was in the airport. We eventually found it (with Southwest help) on another carousel. They tried to say our flight switched carousels (implying I was at the wrong one) but that wasn’t true – we think someone picked it up and moved it. Anyway.
***Val made a few noracooks.com recipes and they were SOOOOO good! Thank you Val!
****I was listening to A Court of Mist and Fury and when I got back I realized I stopped it at 99%! Gah! I finished it in the airport on Monday.
*****Resining in Denver is no joke. I cannot do it fast enough before the UV resin starts curing, even in the shade!
******I made 3 of our meals this weekend. So funny since I rarely cook at home. And now they know the two things I can make, ha.

Random Thoughts Thursday 442

  • On Sunday I did something I haven’t in FOREVER – built a lego set! My snis gave us these roses for Valentine’s Day and Steven and I had fun making them together.

  • For the Super Bowl we had a giant appetizer board and some vegan meatballs and chicken wings. I forget how Steven has to explain football to me each year when we watch it (the only time we watch football!). We watched until the end of the fourth quarter then I wanted to go to bed and missed the OT. How cool am I? Ha. (But for real, I have been so tired all week from eating so much Sunday and staying up a bit later.)

  • Don’t you love the beginning of the year when you get an EOB and you’re like… “Ugh, does my insurance not cover this anymore, or have I just not met my deductible?” Or am I the only one who has that panic? (thankfully, it was the later)
  • Here’s the mani I got yesterday! My Valentine’s Day included a mani and chatting with Lorena (she’s gone to several WWM classes now!), El Famous with Steven, and packing.

Link to Random Thoughts Thursday 441

A week of baby gains

I had such a great week at the gym! I gotta share it!

On Monday, I had a PR in the shoulder press. When I started at WWM in August I struggled with the 45-lb bar alone, but on Monday I tried it with two 10 lb weights on it for shits and giggles after class and it didn’t feel horrible!

The gym used my press video in the end of this reel and that made me feel good!

On Wednesday, I still felt great (probably because I worked downtown Tuesday and didn’t take the HIIT class I normally do) and decided to film some of the landmine squats after class, and thought, what the hell, and added a few more plates. Not sure how much I had on there, but it was the 45-lb bar and about 6 plates.


Then I felt great at HIIT Thursday, and at Lower Body Friday. I ran 16 miles Friday afternoon and thought I’d feel like death at Upper Body Saturday morning, but I was able to do actual pushups off the BOSU! I have been doing pushups on my knees since I started in August and it felt great to make some progress there.

So, woo hoo for all those little baby gains this week! It was exciting to see so much progress in one week.

I have to shout out the amazing trainers at WWM and my wonderful classmates. I’ve received so much encouragement (and compliments, especially on my back, which is nice) and feel so inspired by them – when I’m there, and when I’m not. What a great community!

I wonder how this week will go. Last week felt magical. I gotta check where I’m at in my cycle and see if I experience a great week in a month again.

This week I’ll take three classes there, then head to Denver, where I will test out a baby long run at altitude! I want to check that out before I sign up for the Denver Marathon.

Random Thoughts Thursday 441

I have a long list of things to share but haven’t felt like posting this week. So… this will be long.

  • Let’s start with something easy – here’s my mani from last Thursday!

a

  • And Lorena (my nail tech) went back to WWM for class this week! Woo hoo!
  • Last week my Shokz headphones “broke” (something came loose in an earbud) so I ordered a new pair and they came January 31st. Then I got this email from Garmin the next day. Sigh.

  • I received a pin and certificate for 15 years at work this week! I actually hung the certificate up in our office (I put it over my 10 year certificate).

  • We booked a (June) trip to Vail with Val and Steve this week! And we’re working out details for a North Carolina trip with Caitlin and Joe next month. Yay!
  • The Popcast is doing a live in Chicago in June and one of my favorite people and I may go together!
  • I’ve been loving eating pea pods as a snack lately. Then I was like “Oh, I should see how much Vitamin K they have since I am not supposed to have a ton (unless I adjust my blood thinner meds).” And this is what I found “Edible podded peas are also an excellent source of vitamin K, providing 20% of the daily value per 1-cup serving.” Womp womp.
  • I have a long (kind of?) funny Superbowl story, and a funny carwash story (of Steven’s), and a list of crappy things that happened this week, but I will save those for another day (or never).

Link to Random Thoughts Thursday 440

Hi! I’m Kim, a 39-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, reading, and eating. I follow a vegan lifestyle and am employed by the federal government. I write about a variety of topics and consider this a “life” blog – a place I can share anything that’s on my mind. Please visit the “About” page to get a better idea of who I am! 🙂

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