Friday, August 18, 2023

5 Things Friday

It's Friday but a weird Friday since Paul has his procedure today to remove his ear tubes - which is basically a very expensive ear cleaning. Send me all the good vibes. Paul has decided he does not want to be "put to sleep" (even though I've explained it's just a brief snooze and will be over before he knows it) so I fear it's going to be a rough morning. The surgery is at our Children's Hospital so surely they are good with, um, patients with strong emotions/feelings. We have to be at the hospital at 6:15am so I'm hoping for a nap later today! Will only has a half day so I kept him home for the day and my mom's watching him this morning. Here's 5 things on my mind today. 

1. I feel like I've found my groove in terms of a workout plan. I run on Saturday and Sunday and do strength training workouts on Mondays and Fridays when I work from home. I was trying different things for my strength training workouts but have settled into the Caroline Girvan Epic Heat program. There are "30 minute" workouts but really they are about 36-37 minutes with explanations at the start and the cool down. I really like them! I find myself dripping with sweat at the end of the workout, especially lower body ones! I see there are some HIIT workouts in the program so I may skip those since I'm getting my cardio from running but we'll see. Since I can only do 2/week, it's going to take me 5-6 months to get through the program but so be it. I just don't have the motivation and energy to get up at like 5 to workout before work and nighttime workouts amp me up so much and make it hard to fall asleep. But 4 workouts/week seems reasonable for a working mom with 2 young kids. I think.  

So. Much. Sweat.

2. I used to be terrible at setting boundaries but that is one thing I worked on when I was in therapy in 2020 - because the pandemic was a CRASH COURSE in setting boundaries and I was not prepared. It is still not easy for me to set boundaries (and not feel guilty about setting those boundaries) but work seems to give me plenty of opportunities to practice. Would you believe I received 3 requests to travel during the first week of September? My new hire starts on Tuesday of that week, we don't really have child care for Paul on Tuesday and Wednesday of that week (my MIL will watch him during the day but we will try to not make those days super long for her since she is 80), and Paul starts Kindergarten on Thursday. People were mostly understanding when I explained that my son starts K that week. That is back-to-school week for most schools in Minnesota but I suppose for much of the country, their kids  have been back in school for weeks so September 7th is just an ordinary Thursday. NOT FOR US! 

3. Elisabeth is often sharing great consignment store finds so it's my turn! I took a bin of clothing to the local consignment store last month and looked around while they decided what to keep. I found a brand new pair of Athleta pants - with the tag still on! Granted they were not nearly as cheap as the things Elisabeth finds but they were a fraction of what I'd pay for them at an Athleta store so I'm calling this a win. They are on the more casual side but they have a cute belted/ruffled waist that sort of elevates them/makes them appropriate for work, I think.

Crappy bathroom selfie!

4. The boys had dentist appointments this week. When I got the reminder call the day before the appointment, the person informed me that our pediatric dentist had suddenly died. SHE WAS ONLY 50 YEARS OLD. She had just gotten remarried in the last couple of years and has twin teens. We only saw her twice a year for the last 3 years but she was such a delightful person to work with and I marveled at the fact that she CHOSE to work as a pediatric dentist. This news really hit me even though we barely know this person. But it's so sad to hear of a person's life being cut so incredibly short. We were the only patients at the practice on Wednesday so I fear it will close. She was the sole proprietor so I imagine it will be a mess to figure out what to do with the practice. 

Paul getting his teeth cleaned. The practice is so cutely set up to distract kids. There is a big tree in the middle of the room with different animals carrying toothbrushes, etc and the walls are all painted with a woodland type of scene.

5. Let's close with something happier. Phil went swimming on Tuesday night at swim club so the boys and I hung out in the backyard. I thought they'd want to play with toys while I swept up acorns - but nope. They were more entertained by helping with that chore! Will in particular LOVES to be given a "job." 




And of course I can't close this post without saying happy birthday to Phil!! I can't imagine a better person to navigate the ups and downs of life. He is definitely the fun/funny one in our relationship and helps me to not take life too seriously. And he handles all the gross stuff involved with fishing - because I am certainly not touching worms or fish! I'm glad he gets some much-deserved time away this weekend with his college friends! We'll belatedly celebrate his birthday on Sunday when he's back!! Taco and Phil share a dislike for pictures so nearly all of my pictures of Phil are candids/photos I've sneakily taken. ;) 



How was your week? Are you good at setting boundaries?

14 comments:

  1. I think I'm getting better at setting boundaries the older I get, but it's tough. I definitely don't think of myself as a pushover, but I HATE conflict and really hate when people are unhappy with me. You know about the complicated interpersonal situation I've been dealing with in my neighbourhood the last few years and so I think that's why things cut so deep? I hate that someone hates me...Sigh.

    It is crazy how life can change in the blink of an eye. It feels like we all have forever to live and then we see these reminders of how quickly life can be over. I think the older I get the more I see this happening (or notice it). We're now at the point where people we know have passed from cancer and left spouses/kids behind. It's very sobering. But I also have to live in the present and try to be grateful for each day - without dwelling on the fact it could be my last, but realizing that it could be...it that makes sense?

    Love the pants! They're adorable and look fabulous on you.

    ReplyDelete
  2. First of all, GOOD LUCK today with Paul's procedure! I'm imagining you're there right now.
    Second, Athleta pants are really expensive, so finding brand new ones at a consignment store is amazing. They look really cute!
    And, I think your workout plan is perfect. CG workouts are definitely HARD. I've never done any of her HIIT, just strength. They're very good, and a nice length.
    Happy Birthday to Phil!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Happy birthday Phil and good luck with the ear tubes procedure! You look adorable in those pants, very good find!
    How terribly sad about your dentist. We had a couple over yesterday and it was the first time I had met this woman. She told me her husband dropped dead from a heart attack at 48 (this was years ago). Her kids were 11, 15, and 17 at the time. No warning, great health, dead at 48. We just don't know how much time we have in this world! It's so sad to hear of lives cut short.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Good luck to Paul today! (And to you -- I hope the medical team is excellent at allaying his concerns!) And happy birthday to Phil!

    How terribly tragic and sad about your dentist. Those kinds of sudden deaths certainly make you stop and think. Life is so precious.

    Love your thrift store find! And yay for coming up with a workout schedule that works for you. This makes me want to go give CG another try. I find the videos where she doesn't say anything while she does the reps to be quite boring -- I prefer when the exercise "guru" is cheering me on the whole time. But a good workout is a good workout so I think I should give her another chance!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I just love those Athleta pants you got! They are so cute! I haven’t been thrifting in a long time, I used to thrift a lot when I lived in Kamloops and I found the more often you go the more likely you are to find good things so I should try to go more often.

    I am getting better at setting boundaries. Also learning this skill through lots and lots of therapy and by following therapist / boundary setting accounts on Instagram!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Whoops, forgot to sign my comment :) but I’m sure you knew it was me!
      -Amber

      Delete
  6. Best of luck to Paul! Love and light your way!

    Boundaries... I USED to be the absolute WORST with boundaries-this ties in with being a people pleaser. As I got older, had kids, and reexamined who I am again, I became better at it. At work we have a good work-life balance going for us since we are public employees. When I am alone with kids and they get sick I have to take a day, and I do. Nobody ever questioned. With relationships... With T it's almost always a yes, because well he is T. :) With friends.. I can be entirely honest and say "I'm having a bad day, and I won't be able to meet up." They always understand, or they say they understand. With media consumption/blogging/entertainment I know what I like, and I don't get myself get overwhelmed with everything available.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Happy birthday to Phil! And good luck today with Paul -- you're probably done by now and I hope it went well. Boundaries.... better than I used to be; not great but OK!

    ReplyDelete
  8. I found CG's EPIC Heat to be dispiriting and am doing Iron now. LOL. I was actively avoiding exercise. I'd like to hear more about how you feel about Heat as you get further into it!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Happy birthday to Phil. I hope he had a great golfing trip with his friends.

    I am happy to hear you found your workout groove! I think 4x/week is great and you seem to strike a good balance.

    How did Paul's surgery go? I am so sorry to hear about your pediatric dentist dying at 50. Wow. What is too young.

    ReplyDelete
  10. hope the procedure went well with Paul. I can expect a lot of crying, hopefully it's short and efficient.
    glad to hear you've worked it out your workout schedule and happy about it. I feel like sometimes our expectation is making things not as good as they objectively are. lower expectation may be the key in many things in life. I'm deep into my running program for the next two months, so I'm failing down strength. I still do Physio which is basically focused strength program twice a week for 45 min, and then I try to do 1-2 times short strength sessions if it's not a high mileage week. So far I'm happy with this plan as I'm covering the basics while focusing on running.
    hope Phil is having fun golfing with friends.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Happy Birthday to Phil! I hope that he had a good time with his friends and that he got plenty of chances to do all of the kidless things that he wanted to do. I hope that your weekend with the kids was fun and not too stressful! I am guessing that now that the weather is nicer, you are getting outside a lot, which is probably a blessing!

    WOof. My workouts are bleh! I have not really been running; my "workouts" lately have consisted to riding my bike to BART and back (about 4 miles) each day, but my motivation levels have been at all time lows lately. I have been hiking a few times on weekends, but really I need to find and get back into some sort of groove/routine. I just can't muster up the enthusiasm. I ALWAYS feel better when I am done but it has been really had to get up with gumption to get out and do something.

    ReplyDelete
  12. I think 4 workouts a week for ANYONE is amazing, let alone a mom with two young kids. Good job at finding a groove that works for your life right now! I know exercise is really important to you. <3

    I am pretty good about setting boundaries, and I have to be because I have such finite amounts of energy, and if I don't want to do somehting, I won't. It's always a little different when it comes to work, but I think I'm pretty good at stepping away and keeping my work life/personal life separate.

    That is so sad about your dentist. This is why I have such anxiety about my mom! People die suddenly all the time. It's terrifying. I hope your dental practice is able to keep going without her. <3

    ReplyDelete
  13. I learned about boundaries thanks to al-anon. I'm better at some than others, clearly my ability to block my schedule is still not where it probably should be. I know it was hard to say no to the work travel but good for you for sticking to that boundary! Work will not remember that trip but your boys will remember that you were there for them that first week of school!!! That is so sad about the dentist and I am so sorry to hear that!!! You know I love a good thrift store find!!! I definitely believe in the sustainability of passing along clothes and finding ways to repurpose things! I live with 2 people who also dislike pictures and they get mad at me for candids. I can usually get at least one or 2 pictures if I say that it's for our photo book.

    ReplyDelete