Seabright's 2019 Battle Log of Awesomeness

[Seabright]

Thur, Feb 7

 

Eating

• Breakfast - eggs w/veggies and 2.5 turkey sausage patties.
• Lunch - all good.
• Dinner - all good.
• Snacks - apples.

Exercise

• 20 mins yoga - stretching and getting everything moving.
• 10 min walk around the building. Just the bare minimum.

Taking time

• Nada

Bravery

• On deck: Have to tell someone, 'no,' and find a way to say, 'it's because you're a phony baloney' in a nice way.
• Update: Did it. She took it gracefully. 

Mando

• 15 mins with the timer.

 

Notice something beautiful

• Great nice sleep! Thank you, Alka Seltzer Cold and Cough.

[Seabright]

Fri - Sun, Feb 8-10

 

Quick! Snuggle up, everyone. I've only got a few mins to describe the joy and heartache that was my weekend.

 

Eating

• Breakfast - twice had breakfast sandwiches...with the croissant. 
• Lunch - all good.
• Dinner - one evening went berserk with the fish tacos, rice, beans, and tortilla chips. Another dinner involved margaritas.
• Snacks - whoa. cookie stress eating...in spades. this even involved a special trip to The Buttery for a chocolate dream cookie. Also got a pumpkin cookie, and a heart-shaped gingerbread cookie with chocolate frosting. this was all in reaction to a HIDEOUS meeting on Friday. I need a better strategy to recover from this type of thing.

Exercise

• LOTS of yoga-ing.
• Did my BWW workout...finally. Friday's became Sunday's. 
• Hours and hours and hours in the garden, prepping the area for the shed-cum-garden-office in between downpours. Dug and dragged and chopped and transplanted and waded through mud and had my boot sucked off my foot. Ended Sunday evening curled up to a bottle of Advil.

Taking time

• LOTS of time to myself in garden world.

Bravery

• Worked our way through multiple Dad episodes. Did not crack.
• Horrible meeting with the VP of such-and-such. Bravely kept my sh*t together. Was professional, but stood tall.
• ATTACKED the back garden where the office is going to go. SEIZED my Kodiak shovel and got 'er done. The only things left are the little bit of hardscape, the stone bench, and a bunch of holes.

Mando

• Nada. 

Notice something beautiful

So many things!

• Lovely sunrise.
• Snuggly graykins in the morning, purring and tromping.
• A hummingbird nectaring on the pink-flowering currant while I was moving it.
• A crowd of little dark-eyed junkos all around me when I paused for a moment in the middle of a transplant. 
• A hawk swooping out of the neighbor's tree, right over my head, and then into the oak on the other side of the yard.
• The sight of a half-finished margarita, with another one on the way.

 

 

[Seabright]

Wait. What day is it again? Oh yeah. Wed, Feb 13.

 

It's been a remarkably rough few days. Dad stuff got more and more out of hand. Urgent need to get him to the doc involved me BEGGING for an appt, so we wouldn't end up in the emergency room. Specimen bottle purchases at odd hours--thank you, Horsnyder's Pharmacy! Had to get spousal unit in for eye surgery at the same time as having to get dad to the doc, and then had to get dad settled down at the same time as having to pick up spousal unit and start taking care of him. Crankiness escalating to aggression escalating to combativeness escalating to attempted attacks. How to get this person dressed and get a urine sample? At one point, found myself sitting in the front seat of my car, saying,

 

Don't break. Don't break. Don't break.

 

As for the rest of it, let the chips fall where they may today. Tomorrow will be better.

[Seabright]

Thurs, Feb 14

 

Gave up and called in for a sick day. Made a list, and thing are looking up.

 

Hugs and kisses to all my little Rebels!

 

Eating

• Breakfast - split a gluten-free cookie from last night with the spousal unit. not sure what gluten is, but it must be delicious, 'cause this ol' cookie left something to be desired.
• Lunch - took spousal unit out to pulled pork sandwiches, a few chips, and herb tea. in a downpour!
• Dinner - chicken and veggies in a light teriyaki sauce. finally read the ingredients and saw lots of sugar in that 'light' sauce. next time will skip it.
• Snacks - crunchy apple. 

Exercise

• BWW and logged in app. Tuesday became today, but got 'er done.
• Walked 10 mins.
• Line dancing class.

Taking time

• Wonderful, quiet moments under the overhang in the back yard, watching the rain come down.

Bravery

• Before signing out, wrote that email that I didn't want to write. 

Mando

• Played some before heading out to line dancing class.

Notice something beautiful

• Wild ocean surf, with foam blowing off the caps and across the sand.

 

[Seabright]

Weekend recap (Feb 15 -18)

 

Well, wow. This was a big weekend for thinking, list-making, and planning. I thought about all the things that were keeping me up at night, and came up with a little plan for each.

 

Stuff that's keeping me up at night

• Dad's medication still not approved.
• Hiring issues at work.
• Retirement planning and the lack thereof 'cause the whole thing is so scary.

       Also, here are a few other outstanding things from a similar mega-list I made last June:

• Meeting with a financial advisor about savings and retirement issues.
• Putting together POAs for me and the spousal unit.
• Putting together estate planning stuff.
• Cleaning out Dad's storage unit.
• Learning how to play minor chords on the mando.
• Learning how to play more chords in general on the mando.
• Quitting coffee.
• Learning to kick off a few of my own songs on the mando.
• Getting on a regular schedule of inviting friends over for dinner.
• Starting back up on our bikes.
• Starting back up on our hikes.

There are a lot of music and general fitness things here, along with the bigger, more immediate stuff. But. Yeah. Big theme? Terror and procrastination around retirement planning. We just haven't been saving much, and now it's getting late in the day. What does that mean? Is my retirement going to be an extra-long lunch hour, and then I just keel over at the end of it?

 

So I bought a book. And read it. And did the little exercises. 

 

And am now feeling much better. 

 

Here is how I'm addressing those keeping-me-up-at-night lists.

 

The plan 

• Dad's medication still not approved. He's safe. Even though things are difficult, he's safe. If there's no update from the pharmacy by 1pm on Tues, I'll call to check in, and then follow-up. I've put this on my calendar. 
• Hiring issues at work. Contact the internal candidate this morning. Talk to the powers-that-be about getting another req now, so we don't lose the great external candidate. For the third candidate, consider offering 6-month contract, with conversion. 
• Retirement planning and the lack thereof 'cause the whole thing is so scary. Read the book and start making a plan. Focus on what a nice little modest retirement would look like for us, and then figure out the gap. Adjust from there. Stop being a pussy and just do this.  
• Meeting with a financial advisor about savings and retirement issues. Do the above work first. Get a solid idea of what we want and where we are, and then call and make that appointment. OR, find your own person from the NAPFA site. (Note: just writing this down made me see I need to find my own person, rather than go from this one single referral.)
• Putting together POAs & estate planning stuff for me and the spousal unit. Do this as part of the work with the financial planner. We need to address, since we don't have kids. (Note: start making friends with the next generation immediately. :-)) 
• Cleaning out Dad's storage unit. Important but not urgent. When it warms up,  spend an hour a weekend slowly addressing this. Pics for the family on question mark items, donate stuff for taxes that no one wants, and toss trash. Talk to sibling-units, agree on a plan, and execute.
• Learning how to play all the chords on the mando, kickoff my own songs, and play fiddle tunes and breaks. Basically, I'm saying, 'Learn how to play this thing!' Roadblock to date has been privacy. Solution - March 5 is the day the garden office gets built, and I'll have a space of my own, outside the house. Until then, bring focus to this with a '15-minutes-no-matter-what' play policy upon arrival at home. 
• Quitting coffee. Hmm. I quit coffee for 1 month between Dec 21 - Jan 21. Then stuff, sleepless nights, fear of being sleepy at work (I fell asleep in the VP's super-special meeting), and poof. Back on it. Next time: Find a dedicated 4 days to quit, and use sick days if I need to. Create a plan for what to do if I get sleepy at work when I'm back in the office. Stick to hot herb tea, and REFUSE to drink decaf. Have this all coincide with something seriously joy-making. It's time to address my voice stuff for realsies, especially if I see music as part of a post-retirement income stream. Now on the calendar for Mar 7 (Thur) - Mar 10 (Sun). That's 4 days of detox, and back to work on Day 5.
• Getting on a regular schedule of inviting friends over for dinner. Monthly reminder now on the calendar, along with a list of people to start with. 
• Hikes and bikes. Spend rainy months focusing on BWW and stairs at work. When rains stop, spend at least one weekend day on a lengthy hike. Keep working with coach. Consider this part of retirement planning. 

[Seabright]

Tues, Feb 18

 

Feeling better. Back on track! Let there be renewed awesomeness!

 

Eating

• Breakfast - veggie omelet w/3 strips bacon and 2 sausage patties.
• Lunch - salad w/veggies and chicken, walnuts and cranberries on top.
• Dinner - chicken w/veggies in a light teriyaki sauce.
• Snacks - apple, big ol' handful of nuts.

Exercise

• BWW, but, whoa. Arm is FREAKIN" PAINFUL from that vaccination I had on Monday. Ow ow ow ow ow. Did everything, but a bit lighter/higher than normal.
• 30 minute walk on the marsh road.

Taking time

• Found a long hour by myself. I closed the door and felt no shame.

Bravery

• Made all those calls that I was hoping I wouldn't have to make.
• Glad I did, because there had been a miscommunication. Plus lots of excuses from various quarters. I bravely smiled and said, 'Okay, well, that doesn't matter now. What needs to happen to get this fixed right now?' And then I said nothing. At all. Just waited. Eventually, the person on the other end of the line stepped up, figured it out, and got it done. 
• Silence is golden.

Mando

• Played a bit. I know I shouldn't completely bail on all of those scales, but I have to say that warming up with some chops and singing is a helluva lot more fun.
• Tried picking out a little melody. You know, slowly. 

Notice something beautiful

• Oh, wow! You should have seen the mist rising up off the reservoir on the way in this morning. Mysterious and lovely.

[Seabright]

Mon, Mar 4

 

Wait. What? Oh, hi there. Yeah, it's me.

 

I know it doesn't look like it, but I really do feel like I'm back on track. Well, sort of. Dad-related emergencies, aborted weekend getaways, conversations with a transitions social worker...these things take more of a personal energy toll than I care to admit. At work, 'pardon my newness' isn't really forestalling the feeling that people are having trouble perceiving me as being validly in my new role. I had expected this, but it is still sort of a teeeeeeny blow to the ol' ego. Lots of deep-breath-taking helps. Yoga on track. Food back on track. Daily exercise challenges on track. Journaling non-existent, as is mando-playing. On the up side, the new garden office (read: shed) is BUILT! Now it just needs electricity, insulation, and a floor. And furniture. And lighting. That aside, it feels like my own darling little 10x10 fort. And, yes, I painted it purple.

 

Eating

• Breakfast - veggie omelet w/2.5 turkey sausage patties.
• Lunch - salad w/almost nothing but lettuce. late to the cafeteria and they were out of everything. dang.
• Dinner - turkey  burger with broccoli, red bell peppers, and onions. topped it off with 2 raspberry turnovers, though (pepperidge farm remembers).

Exercise

• Brief yoga in the am. 
• Push-up challenge: 40.
• Stairs: 3 flights.
• Walk: 11 mins.

Taking time

• Bought a pair of sneaks with zips to leave at work. Now I can wear chic footwear and swap out for lunchtime walks. Yay! You know, when it's not raining.
• Took a stroll through downtown Los Gatos on the way home. I've never done that before. Window-shopped. 

Bravery

• On deck: Respond to the latest email questioning my ability and judgement. :-)
• Update: My super-duper plan of delaying a response while hoping my boss would jump in first paid off. She responded to the initial irritating request for info, allowing me to follow up with some background---and helping me look all helpful and calm and measured and stuff. 
• Celebrated with the aforementioned raspberry turnovers. Next time, will celebrate some other non-turnover-related way.

Mando

• Got home, went out and stood in my fort--but forgot to take my mando. 
• Habit-forming required. 

Notice something beautiful

• 'Oh, your hands are cold,' said Dad. Then he took my hand in both of his, and tried to keep me warm. 

 

[Seabright]

Tues, Mar 5

 

Eating

• Breakfast - veggie omelet w/2 veggie patties.
• Lunch - not feeling it. ended up having an apple and a handful of mixed nuts.
• Dinner - turkey with green beans.

Exercise

• Squat challenge: 50.
• Stairs: 3 flights.
• Walk: 10 mins.

Taking time

• Went to bed early to read.
• Babykins immediately jumped up on the bed and made reading impossible. She's becoming a regular cat!

Bravery

• On deck: Make a freakin' decision by the end of the day today! Also,  call a couple of solar companies and an electrician or two. Might as well keep my little shed project moving forward.
• Update: Made the freakin' decision. Researched companies to talk to but didn't make any calls.

Mando

• Nada. Got home. Ate. Went to bed.

Notice something beautiful

• I put on a pair of slacks that I haven't worn in a while and the waist was huge on me. Woo hoo!

[Seabright]

Wed, Mar 6

 

Eating

• Breakfast - eggs w/veggies, 2.5 turkey sausages. .
• Lunch - fail. chicken strips and fries from jack-in-the-box. on the up side, i haven't done this in a while.
• Dinner - turkey and green beans.
• Snack - handful of nuts, a couple of jerky strips.

Exercise

• Yoga: 20 mins of twists.
• Stairs: 2 flights so far.
• Walk: 45 mins (2-hour bass gig equivalent. worked up a sweat, so that's good). 

Taking time

• Went out to my fort for an hour or so, and worked from there.

Bravery

• On deck: Make those solar calls. 
• Update: Did it! Called 2 companies and found out that what I wanted is called an 'off-grid' system. And that they don't do those. Called a third, smaller place, who seemed up for it. The guy who does estimates and explains stuff to solar newbies is going to call me back tomorrow or Friday.
• Buuuuuut...sounds like I may need to think about putting my little fort ON the grid, for the long-term. Oy.

Mando

• Bass gig instead. Sang some. Played some bluegrass. Singing was terrible but otherwise this was pretty fun.

Notice something beautiful

• Red shouldered hawk in the redwood tree by the freeway, shaking the rain off his feathers.

[Seabright]

Thur, Mar 7

 

Eating

• Breakfast - eggs w/veggies, 2.5 turkey sausages.
• Lunch - salad w/chicken, walnuts, and cranberries. and an oxford comma.
• Dinner - turkey and green beans.
• Snacks - handful of mixed nuts, apple.

Exercise

• Lunges: 0. Tweaked my hammer right out of the gate.
• Stairs: 5 flights.
• Walk: Lots of walking around the building, but nothing that was intentionally 'a walk'.

Taking time

• Closed my office door, just 'cause I felt like it. A first.

Bravery

• On deck: Call a couple of electricians.
• Update: Didn't happen. 

Notice something beautiful

• Last night, I almost ate it on Big Moody curve, coming home in the rain. Took my eyes off the road for a sec, started to slip, adjusted too hard, slid and wobbled and started to lose control in the middle of that long long snaking turn. Recovered after some heart-pounding jiggles. 90 seconds later, almost fainted when I realized how close I had come. 
• And this morning, woke up safe--and alive---next to the spousal unit, with the little gray-kins purring by my head. Let it rain. This  gray dawn was one of the most beautiful I've ever seen.

[Seabright]

Fri, Mar 8

 

Note: 

I had so many meetings yesterday, that I made the conscious decision to leave the coffee-quitting for today. I have one meeting at 10:30am, and then I'll check out for the day. Am now on my second cup of herb tea. Yay for me.

 

Eating

• Breakfast - apple.
• Lunch - 2 cookies.
• Dinner - turkey and green beans. 

Exercise

• Yoga: 20 minutes of a back-bend series. Rigorous! Made up for yesterday, big time.
• Push-ups: 25, and then became overwhelmed with that ol' caffeine headache. 
• Walk: Nada. Spent the afternoon curled up in bed.

Taking time

• Went out to my little fort in the am and gazed out the little windows.

Bravery

• On deck: Call a couple of electricians. Oh, and don't drink any coffee. 
• Update: Called a solar guy and an electrician guy. Didn't drink any coffee. 

Notice something beautiful

• The little baby-kins came up and took a nap with me! She jumped on the bed and stood on my chest (a first for her), and then snuggled up under my arm. She's learning how to be a regular cat!

[Seabright]

Sat & Sun, weekend recap

 

Note: 

No caffeine all weekend. It also rained most of the weekend, which made laying on the couch a natural. 

 

Eating

• Breakfasts - all good.
• Lunch - one good and one bad
• Dinner - all good
• Snacks - more cookies. terrible margarita at the Crow's Nest with friends Sunday evening. 

Exercise

• Headache all weekend, so exercise was at the minimum.
• Yoga on Saturday - forward bends.
• Walk on Sunday - just a wee one around the neighborhood.

Taking time

• Napped on the couch.
• Napped on the floor in front of the fireplace.

Bravery

• Didn't drink any caffeine.

Notice something beautiful

• Lovely sunset from the back deck of the Crow's Nest. 

[Seabright]

Mon, Mar 11

 

Eating

• Breakfasts - veggie omelet w/spinach, onions, tomato, and artichoke hearts. 2 sausage patties.
• Lunch - salad w/chicken, walnuts, cranberries.
• Dinner - chicken breast and veggies.
• Snacks - handful of mixed nuts.

Exercise

• 30 min yoga session in the am. Getting the ol' spine a-movin'. 
• 10 min walk.
• 50 squats.

Taking time

• Stopped at a nursery on the way home and looked for trees. Had a nice visit with the big boy tabby that was asleep in one of the pots. :-)

Bravery

• The meeting that I specifically came in for just got canceled. Bravely did not go ballistic. 

Notice something beautiful

• Flowering cherry 'Akebono' was in bloom at the nursery. Lovely!

[Seabright]

Tue, Mar 12

 

Eating

• Breakfasts - veggie omelet w/spinach, onions, tomato, and artichoke hearts. 2 sausage patties.
• Lunch - chicken teriyaki bowl with broccoli, a little bit of rice, and an egg roll. 
• Dinner - tilapia with veggies (at the gig).
• Snack - handful of mixed nuts.

Exercise

• No yoga - overslept. Plus, it was cold. And dark. And I overslept, too, as well.
• 30 min walk.
• 7 flights of stairs total for the day.

Taking time

• Nice lunchtime walk along East Cliff at lunchtime. Gazed at the ocean. Walked slowly. Felt better.

Bravery

• I walked in to fear, and horror and tears. Had I heard?? The Japanese had attacked Pearl Harbor this morning! Just this morning. Hadn't I heard? Give me your hand, I said. Let me hold you, I said. That was a long time ago. But, no! It wasn't! It was happening right now! Right now!! Anger that I didn't believe it.  I love you, I said. Would it help if I showed you today's headlines? They're real-time. You've seen me do this before. Yes, that might help, The breathing was ragged, the tears were there, just around the corner. And I showed him step by step the headlines. All of them from around the world. Now, let's do a search for Pearl Harbor. And wikipedia came up first, with that date, that big big date, front and center. I'm not surprised you thought so, that documentary looked so real. I was confused, too, and then realized it was a documentary. I'm not surprised you thought so, it was so natural for you to think so, that documentary was so real. That was in 1941, and you were 12 years old. And then the work to ground the memory in a point in time, long ago. Did you tell your mom? Where were you living at the time? Did you and your brother hear the news together? Had you had breakfast yet? Did you wake up your mom? That must have been so scary. You were 12. You were 12. You were 12...
• 20 minutes later, we were able to move on to another, happier long ago memory, from that same time. The memory of a lovely summer morning, listening to the choir sing. Oh, Coronation was the tune, the music upward rolled. I thought I heard the angel choir strike on their harps of gold. 

Notice something beautiful

• A pair of oak titmice in the little tree outside my window.
• The site of the old hands, clasped together. 
• The faded eyes, smiling at the memory of the summer singing of a church choir. 

[Seabright]

Wed, Mar 13

 

Too much coffee, all day long.

 

Eating

• Breakfasts - veggie omelet w/spinach, onions, tomato, and artichoke hearts. 2 sausage patties and 2 pieces of bacon.
• Lunch - the catered lunch at the meeting looked heavy and icky...and mysterious. ran to the cafe and grabbed a ham sandwich with lettuce and mustard.
• Dinner - chicken breast and steamed vegetables.
• Snacks - handful of nuts at work, and then...FAIL! 7-layer bar at the gig. 

Exercise

• Yoga in the am. Fantastic 30 minute session of hip openers. Yowzah.
• Stairs - only 2 flights.
• Walk - 2-hour bass gig, so calling this about 45 mins equivalent.

Taking time

• Sat for a second in my car, parked in front of the house. 

Bravery

• On deck: call another electrician for a comparison. Update: Did it. Scheduled for tomorrow am.

Notice something beautiful

• 'Nightingale' by Judy Collins came up on shuffle.

[Seabright]

Thur, Mar 14

 

How do people do this? How do they get through the next day, and then the next? Last night I sat in the car after the meltdown and before my gig, staring out the windshield, trying to figure it out, trying to find some way. Yesterday was the first time that I couldn't come up with a way to make it better, to calm things down, to distract and redirect. Yesterday was the first day it was all wholeheartedly turned on me, too. 'Liar! You're lying!' Am I running out of ideas? Am I just tired? I dropped to my knees and reach for the cold hand. 'It's me. I know you're frustrated. It's me.' How do people do this? Where does this take them? 

 

Then I got out of the car, rolled my bass from the cold street and into the warmth and light of the little restaurant, played some music and smiled and smiled. 

 

Eating

• Breakfasts - fail. blueberry scone and a butter croissant. needed some carbs in a hurry.
• Lunch - salad with chicken, walnuts and cranberries
• Dinner - fail upon fail. fish tacos (no sauce), rice, whole black beans, corn tortillas, and a few chips. no beer, though, so i guess it could have been worse.
• Snacks - a handful of mixed nuts.

Note: I radically cut back on all the apple-eating, and I think it has actually helped stabilize things for me. I don't seem to get as crazy-wildly hungry during the day, and I'm coughing less. Interesting.

Exercise

• Push-ups: 40 - counter height.
• Stairs: 5 flights.
• Walk: 35 mins on the marsh trail.

Taking time

• Freakin' FORCED myself to go for that walk. Felt so much better. Breathed some real air and let the sun shine on my face.

Bravery

• This is going to sound odd, but it was brave of me to decide to go home and stay there, instead of going to Twin Lakes to check on Dad. I need to see him smile, and it was hard to just take care of myself this evening.

Notice something beautiful

• Wood ducks! Wood ducks in the bay marsh!

[Seabright]

Fri - Mon

 

Sick.

Nothing happened.

[Seabright]

Tues, Mar 29

 

Feeling so much better! Back to factory specs!

 

At least...sort of. Now is usually the time I over-exert myself. Har har.

 

Eating

• Breakfasts - veggie omelet w/bacon and sausage.
• Mid-Morning snack - fell for the chocolate old-fashioned. it took me down.
• Lunch - handful of mixed nuts.
• Dinner - seasoned chicken breast and veggies. lots of herb tea.

 

Exercise

• Stairs: 5 flights
• Lunges w/assist: 12 reps per leg
• Yoga: gorgeous 30 minutes of twists
• Walk: 27 mins along the marsh trail

Taking time

• On deck: leave early. I think I need to lie down again.
• Update: left 5 mins early, not the 45 mins early that i'd been hoping for. still, made me feel good, and gave me time to try on some stuff i'd ordered all on my ownsome.

Bravery

• On deck: call the maternal unit. I really don't want to, but I guess now i'm just being petulant. That's very unleadership-y of me.
• Update: did it. kept it light and civil.

Notice something beautiful

• The early light of dawn reflecting off the storm clouds. Dawn is the very best time of all the times!

[Seabright]

Wed, Mar 20

 

Not feeling quite as euphoric as I did yesterday,  but doing okay. Good reminder not to overdo. 

 

Eating

• Breakfasts - eggs and veggies w/2 turkey sausage patties.
• Lunch/dinner/snacks - all good.

Bravery

• On deck: oh man. have to review all those resumes this morning, and then start contacting people. scared. so not me.
• Update: did it. reviewed the stuff, then started talking. did it.

Notice something beautiful

• Holy smokes! Saw a sharp-shinned hawk swoop down to Dad's bird feeder, wheel and pivot, then land in the mayten tree outside of Dad's window!! WTF?!? How freakin' cool was that???

[Seabright]

Mon, Mar 25

 

Reflecting on this and that. Did the taxes this weekend, and that felt good. Decided to just get the damn permit and let the chips fall where they may. Got closer to deciding about paths and such as that. Thought about lack-of-horses, and how that really made me feel. Thought about the need to save, and the lack of horses, and the loss of the music revenue streams which had previously paid for the horses, and how all of that worked together. And time. And my little daddy. And more time. To work in the garden and go for hikes this spring and summer. And what all of that means.

 

So, this week, I'm going to focus on finishing the month strong. Just this week. Do all the things, stay strong with all the things, and set myself up for a strong start in April.

 

Ready - Set - Go!

 

Eating

• Breakfast - veggie omelet w/spinach, onions, and red bell peppers. 2 turkey sausage patties.
• Lunch - salad w/chicken, walnuts, veggies, dried cranberries.
• Snacks - one of those macadamia nut protein ball thingies. delish. 
• Dinner - green curry with rice and sweet potato.

Exercise

• Yoga: 30 mins of basics. Felt good, and worth getting in late to work for.
• Stairs: 7 flights total.
• Lunges: 14 each leg total. These are hard.
• Walk: 10 mins around the bldg, since it was raining outside.

Taking time

• Made a first-do-this-and-then-do-that list of stuff to do when I got off the freeway. Glad I did, because then all I had to do was follow my tasks and it all got done--including the hated trip to Safeway.

Mando

• Putting this back on the list. I wish I were working on this, and I want to keep it top-of-mind.
• Points tonight if I just TOUCH it.
• Update: not only did I touch my mandolin, I did warm-ups and then played for 15 mins. Yay.

Bravery

• Getting ready for one of those talks with someone.
• Update: Fail. Mad at myself for the fail, too. I prevaricated. That's something I really have to fight myself over, and this time I clutched. I think I learned from this, though: always be impeccable with your word. I now know what i could have done to prevent the situation from occurring in the first place. Lesson learned. Hoping I didn't damage myself too much with this one.

Notice something beautiful

• No traffic coming over the hill this morning! The benefits of heading in later than usual.

[Seabright]

Tues, Mar 26

 

Reflections for this morning:

•  We realized we weren't really in to being out of town on the last weekend of April. Felt like too much work. Canceled and will regroup. June, maybe?
•  Realized that I may have a guitar gig on Friday. Yikes. Sent a note to find out if we're still on. If so, after-work practicing needs to be guitar-oriented.
•  For yesterday's fail, consider several methods to recovery. After thinking through multiple options, decided to just let this one fade away. To do more would just drag things out and potentially create hard feelings. If this surfaces again, will address directly at that point.
•  Realized I'm feeling a tad at-sea when it comes to cross-functional relationships at work. Will find time this afternoon to get more crisp on a plan to address. I'm not doing well here.

 

Eating

• Breakfast - veggie omelet w/spinach, onions, and red bell peppers. 2 turkey sausage patties.
• Lunch - salad w/chicken, walnuts, veggies, dried cranberries.
• Snacks - handful of nuts, 2 small whole-wheat fig bars.
• Dinner - turkey and green beans, along with a little bit of gravy.

Exercise

• Yoga: 30 mins for flexibility. Realized my low back muscles are weak. Will work on this by improving my seated posture (which, you know, sucks).
• Stairs: 7 flights total.
• Push-ups: 40 total. 5 of them were kneeling. Yay for me!
• Walk: 20 mins along East Cliff.

Taking time

• Drove to the cliffs for that walk, instead of rushing home like I always do. 
• Lovely, cool evening. 

Mando

• Grabbed the guitar and played for about 1/2 an hour. Turns out, they want me to bring my bass AND my guitar. Ruh roh.

Bravery

• On deck: dealing with the pharmacy and the neurologist over a refill.
• Update: hey! it was super-easy!

Notice something beautiful

• A little fog lingering on the pass as I came over in the morning.

[Seabright]

Wed, Mar 27

 

Note to self: Buy a lottery ticket. Millions and millions of dollars would really come in handy about now.

 

Eating

• Breakfast - overslept, so grabbed something on the way to work. a low-fat blueberry scone seemed like the least-toxic choice.
• Everything else - all good.

Exercise

• Yoga: 30 mins for flexibility. Realized my low back muscles are weak. Will work on this by improving my seated posture (which, you know, sucks).
• Stairs: 2 flights so far.
• Squats: 20 so far.
• Walk: 10 mins.

Taking time

• Some.

Mando

• On deck: more guitar.
• Update: got home and immediately went to bed.

Bravery

• On deck: meet those people that i'm afraid of.
• Update: done. and they were really nice!

Notice something beautiful

• All around me.

[Seabright]

Mon, Apr 1

 

Got my little daddy admitted to hospice yesterday. Knee still bugging me.

 

Eating

• Breakfast - eggs w/spinach, onions & bell peppers, 2.5 turkey sausages.

Exercise

• Yoga: 30 mins. Started on the floor w/cow-cat, moved to sun sals. Felt good.
• Stairs: 2 short flights so far (wfh today).
• Push-ups: 30 so far (counter-height).
• Walk: 

Taking time

• Spent extra time laying on my back in front of the fireplace this morning, with the little kitty-kins against my arm.

Mando

• On deck: bass gig tonight up in Oakland.

Bravery

• On deck: stay calm, all day,

Notice something beautiful

•  

[Seabright]

Thurs, Apr 4

 

Annnnnnnd...we're back! Did some yoga this am, met a couple of friends for a cup o' coffee, and blocked time on my cal for a walk at lunchtime. 

 

Eating

• Breakfast - eggs w/spinach, onions & bell peppers, 2.5 turkey sausages.
• Lunch - salad w/chicken, a few veggies, dried cranberries.
• Dinner - seasoned chicken breast, bell peppers, onion, broccoli.
• Snack - 2 beers while playing music in the evening.

Exercise

 

Knee is no-bueno, so skipping the stairs for a bit (will replace with a few push-ups). Realized I had stopped taking my magical synthovial 7 eye-and-joint-health garbage a while ago. Connection? Maybe it's not garbage? Started up again this am.

• Yoga: 30 mins. Warmed up, sun sals, then stretched in front of the fireplace. Kitty helped by lying full-length alongside me.
• Push-ups: 30.
• Walk: 28 mins through the marsh.

Taking time

• Took that walk, even though it was pretty dreary outside. Felt good, and went fast enough to, you know, perspire.

Mando

• On deck: play some music tonight with friends.
• Update: first time playing music at our house in a while. VERY fun, great singing, and stuck to the mandolin the entire time. Didn''t take any real breaks, but felt like I'm getting my chops back up to speed. 

Bravery

• On deck: call a couple people to get estimates on helping to build a path.
• Update: didn't do.

Notice something beautiful

• Big smiles and hugs from friends I hadn't seen in a while. 

[Seabright]

Fri, Apr 5

 

It's raining. Again. Still. 

 

After the extended years-long drought, it's easy to forget that rain is actually normal. Should last through the beginning of May, but I guess we've all gotten used to, you know, none. At all. Ever. 

 

This is better.

 

Eating

• Breakfast - eggs and sausage patties.
• Lunch / Dinner / Snacks - all good.

Exercise

 

Started taking that ridiculous synovial fluid stuff, that actually seems to work. Hoping this will help the ol' knee. In the meantime, taking it easy on stair-age, squattage, and lunge-age. Maybe I'll do a few more pushups, and sneak in a bar hang or two.

• Walk: 20 mins
• Pushups: 30 from yesterday
• Bar hang: 0

Taking time

• In my little fort this morning. No electricity, no floor, and no heat. 
• Lovin' it.

Mando

• none.

Bravery

• On deck: call a couple people to get estimates on helping to build a path.
• Update: didn't do. 

Notice something beautiful

• I love my new fort!