Mountain Retreat, Getting Back in Shape, "The Bulldog" Nickname, Cello Update

Last Thursday, I got up and to the office extra early, because I was leaving shortly after 4 to head to the Mountain Retreat for a weekend of family and fun. An hour into the day, I had made more progress than I ever anticipated and, better yet, I had energy. This continued until about 3pm. I did not have extra coffee or caffeine, but something worked. After bouncing ideas around last weekend, I decided to see if I could manage to get into the office a little early or at least around the time of my early morning meetings. No single day this week went as I envisioned, but I got in early or on time and overall I was pretty productive. Most days, I was in bed at the same time or a bit later and I felt much better in the morning. So my goal for this upcoming week is to keep getting up early and see if I can get into the office just a little early. I will be leaving by 5:15 pm most days, though, even if I only arrive on time or a few minutes late.

Post-work, I ran one day, mowed the lawn, and worked on my flower bed, which is now my summer project. I also did some weeding and moved a giant rock about 10 feet in two separate trips. My neighbors likely think I have lost my mind, but that's ok. Below are some flowers from various bushes and the white flowers, which we transplanted just under a year ago, are spreading!

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Yep, I have even more flower blooms and the flower bed in the back is moving right along. Of course...the grass is trying to retake the turned over soil. Ah well - the rain is making this process easier in some respects.

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Today I did 30 minutes (10 minutes on the stationary bike, 20 minutes on the armless elliptical). I have not used my indoor gym for awhile and it was nice to get back to it. If the weather stays warm, I may use it more and/or try to get up extra early to run pre-early work arrival time. Checkback next week to see how this is working!

In Cleveland, my family nickname of, 'The Bulldog," was announced. Yes, I am determined - some say stubborn is more a appropriate word. I have decided that I prefer the nickname to stubborn! As we rehearsed, I kept trying to find a way to disprove it, but I cannot. So now you know.

On a fun note, I dropped the cello off and it does indeed need a bit of work and likely four new strings. It took me three tries to get the cello into my car and oh adjusting to the size will take awhile. I am excited though and - if it possible - I might be more excited than I was about taking up the violin or piano. Music is such a big part of me and, while I made the right decisions about choir and so forth, I miss it. If the cello ends up helping me deal with health issues, I am all for it.

I am still back-and-forth with running. I love it, but I still feel lousy afterwards at times. So I am taking it on a day-by-day basis. I signed-up for a mile run on June 15th. If I feel good, I will do it but I am glad that I can delay my decision a bit longer.

Happy Saturday!

Happy Belated Parent's Day, Race Recap, Presentation Recap (short, no images)

It’s been two weeks. I tried Jungle Curry the night before the race, which was so delicious! The 5k went better than I expected. The shorter distance was the right but tough decision to make.

I then spent most of the next week in pain for reasons I cannot explain and I can only hope to get answers. It could mean not racing, doing speed work, or perhaps it was a one time thing. Whatever the reason, I am not making any decisions right now and I certainly will not be registering for any races for a bit.

On happy news, the presentation went really well and we think 100 people attended. The questions, although minimal, were great. It was really special to collaborate and present with my Dad on Father’s Day. I am not sure if we will have future opportunities to co-facilitate, but it is something I will treasure always.


I am sorry that Gabe Grunewald is no longer with us, but I am glad she is running pain free. She and her husband are amazing people and, while I have not met them in person, I definitely have been thinking of them. I will look more into the Brave Like Gabe foundation and every future race bib of mine will be labeled Brave Like Gabe.






Happy Belated Parents Day to all!

I have learned that working on weekends usually makes for a week with less than ideal concentration. If I go to a coffee shop or work on by back porch, then it is not so bad. I also take lots of breaks but I also knew working this weekend was inevitable. Deadlines are good and I must meet them. Oh will I be glad when I can mark of few them as done!

Bloodwork is not fun and today they used pediatric sized needles. My little veins are just not fun for this sort of thing and it is also why I am trying out this coffee shop, which I spotted a month or so ago. I am hoping I will not suffer any ill effects so that I can do a 10k as planned a week from tomorrow. If necessary, I will do the 5k instead.

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I decided to try out a new coffee place, which I learned about a month or so ago. As for the book, it is historical fiction, which is not usually my style, but I read it in one sitting. Yes, it did make for ending the week with less than ideal amounts of sleep, but such is life. Happy Weekend.

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On June 16th, I am giving a presentation and so today I am finishing up the slides. As a multiple draft person and a perfectionist, this is version 4 or so. I stopped counting, because it is not helping. I hope it goes well but I will go into it knowing that I prepared as best I can for it.

Meanwhile, I spent quite a bit time going down a rabbit hole and debating whether or not to include something in a publication, which was recommended to me. At this point, I probably will not unless I get the same advice from another person. I did learn about some neat things in a program, though, which I started using two years ago for making graphs. The time was well spent, even if it did put me slightly behind. Submission will happen in the two weeks and then the worst part, waiting, comes to the forefront. I have other projects and so I will put my focus on moving those in the right direction.

After seeing the book, "Sarah's Key" by Tatiana de Rosnay in a library, I picked it up and read it one night. I really enjoyed it and it is historical fiction. Usually, I cannot handle this type of book, because they mess up the facts and my history major background rebels. It did make for a tough end to the week sleep wise, but I have no regrets. It also made me realize just why I enjoy learning about Eastern European history and World War II. So many people fought to escape or persist in tough circumstances. If they survived, many individuals made a point of changing the world and trying to prevent such things from occurring a second time. 

As I have procrastinated enough, it is time to get back to editing slides and articles.

Happy Saturday!