Royal Bunny Tracs 5K

Today we walked the Royal Bunny Tracs 5k. This was our third 5k, but the last one we walked was about four years ago.  Considering how far I’ve come with walking in the past year, this was an exciting milestone for me.

This was a local event put on by Manhattan Running Company and the Kiwanis to raise money for foster kids to go to summer camps and participate in school year mentoring programs. The race started at 8:30 with registration opening at 7:30. We were there around 7:15. In hindsight, we probably could have slept in a little, but I like to be prepared and ready.

Before we even signed up, I asked a friend to see if they had a time limit. I knew I wasn’t going to finish in less than an hour, and at the time, I was planning for more like an hour and a half. When we went to pick up our race packets, one of the organizers knew our name and reassured us that we could take as long as we needed. I love that we were on the radar and getting support before it even started.

We each got a Bunny Tracs T-shirt and a race number. I put my t-shirt on over the one I was already wearing and didn’t have a problem with fit. This was refreshing. Not only were plus sizes offered, but they fit like a plus size and not a medium with the wrong tag.

The race started at exactly 8:30. Jon and I stayed in the back so the runners and fast walkers could breeze past us. I wanted to enjoy the walk, not hurt myself at the beginning. I walked my normal pace on the first lap, tried to pick up the pace on the second, then started losing momentum on the third. I jogged a couple times, including the last few yards over the finish line. By the time we started the second lap, we were pretty much on the track by ourselves.

The volunteers were awesome, waiting for our laggy butts to make it to their stations and being super nice and supportive. All kinds of people threw words of encouragement at us. I wasn’t expecting that. In hindsight, I probably should have thrown some back, but all I could think to say was thanks. Which is probably okay, since someday maybe I can encourage people walking a 5k for the first time.

They had already taken down the finish line arch, but the ground line was still there, so our finish felt official. We didn’t get timed. The organizer at the beginning asked if we cared about time. We didn’t. Jon timed us on his phone though. We finished in one hour and fifteen minutes.

We made the last part of the awards ceremony and chatted with people before leaving. There were other events happening, but we were wiped and still had laundry to do.

I’m planning to sign us up for another one, and we’re going to continue training to build speed and distance. I haven’t given up plans to maybe run one someday, but I’m going to get some walks under my belt first.

Achievement unlocked. The day has been a success.

A.

Saturday Walk and Manhattan Running Company

I made it out this morning to take my 5k walk despite being tired from getting to bed so late. Jon didn’t join me due to a sore throat and looming cold, so I made it to the track solo after grabbing breakfast and a bottle of water. It was a tough walk today. It’s warmer, and the sun made things a little more uncomfortable. Not complaining in general…I love the sun and I’m glad to see it might stick around for a season. But this means I need to invest in sunscreen and get in the habit of carrying a water bottle while I walk.

Even though I was tempted to stop after every lap, I didn’t. I made it around four times…which I think is more than the 5k distance at that track…and I maintained the hour and a half walk time. It was slightly longer due to stopping to take a phone call and to text Jon, but it was close.

I also got to break in my new shoes!

Pay no attention to the old school carpeting and the super baggy sweatpants.

The Most Comfortable Pair I’ve Ever Worn Adidas shoes I bought for five dollars at Goodwill were too worn in the sole to be able to walk and jog comfortably. I have another pair of Adidas, but they’re not as comfortable for wearing in general.

About a week ago, I received an email from Manhattan Running Company that reminded me of their free gait analysis. I figured it would be a good idea to try it out. Plus, I’d like to start supporting some of the city’s small businesses and keep my money local, so Jon and I went up there to see what they had.

They did a test to see where I put my weight when standing (on my toes, apparently), then they had me jog on the treadmill so they could record what my feet do when I’m running. The woman who helped me showed me my video alongside the video of a runner with an overpronation. It looked so weird…like his ankle was going to snap. I know part of it was an optical illusion…but it was a little unsettling, even though I know it’s common and one of those things that differ with people.

I learned two things with my analysis: I don’t have a pronation and I strike on my toes, not my heels. Apparently there’s no right or wrong way to do it. The woman mentioned that runners who strike with their toes have to work harder. However, word on the street is that that’s how barefoot runners run. And while I have no intentions of running barefoot, I figure I’m just going to stick with what’s comfortable for me, even if it is the less efficient way to do it.

I picked from a few different shoes and ended up with the blue ones based on fit, comfort, and price. They were on sale, and I can’t say no to a discount. Because I mentioned the email, I also got a free pair of socks,They may be the most comfortable socks I’ve ever worn (besides hand knitted socks, which aren’t ideal for exercise). They’re really lightweight and soft. I didn’t “get” it before, but I think I see why runners invest in more expensive socks.

Besides the gait analysis (which I think is a really cool thing) and my wanting to support a local small business, MRC is just a cool place in general. They have all sorts of running gear. We’d gone there before because they were the only place in town we could find armbands to fit our phones. The service was great too, and the woman who helped me was nice and patient in answering all my questions. There’s always that thought that a place is going to get weird when I tell them I want to run at my size, but I didn’t get a judgmental vibe at all from them. If you’re in MHK, I recommend this store. If you’re not, definitely check your local listings for a good small business running store. Keep it local, peeps…if you can, of course.

When Jon needs new shoes, I think we’ll head back up there and get him fitted and analyzed too. Hopefully they have his shoe size. Dude’s got big feet. Either way, I bet I’m buying more socks.

I only tried out the new shoes with walking, so tomorrow I’ll test how they feel when I run. Even though the walk itself was rough, the shoes felt awesome. Side note: during my test, I realized that jogging on a treadmill is actually easier than jogging on the track. Didn’t expect that one.

After the walk, I was pretty much out of commission for the rest of the day. I showered, did some stuff online, and watched some movies. Beside this blog, I tried to do some other things that required thought, but I just couldn’t. Every once in awhile, I just need to let everything rest, and this was one of those days.

Here’s to hoping I’m a little bit sharper tomorrow so I can check some stuff off the to-do list.

A.

Waiting for Good News and Making Good Things Happen

Part of the reason I’ve put off writing for the past few days is that I was hoping to have some good news to share. Jon had a really positive interview last week, and we were hoping to hear that he got the position by early this week. Unfortunately, he hasn’t heard anything yet. So we’re still in limbo, and I’m a ball of anxiety waiting to find out if we can finally breathe a sigh of relief or if we have to hold it for a little while longer.

I was thinking about it at the gym, and my daily blog post, even when it was super boring and nothing more than “I didn’t do anything” or “No time to write, stay tuned for tomorrow” helped keep me grounded. It was routine and it was an accomplishment. Since I’ve started blogging sporadically, other than the Influenster product reviews and the book reviews, I kind of feel scattered again.

I’m sure there are other reasons for feeling scattered: new position at work, aforementioned unsureness of the future, the changing of the seasons. But right now, I’m trying to find things that will help me get back to feeling “right”. Maybe my daily blog, even if it has no rhyme or reason, and even if it’s boring, is what I need to aim for.

So we’ll see how that goes.

Let’s see what I can update on right now…

I’ve been pretty good about exercising regularly, though I’ve been bad about walking on breaks and getting to my step goal. I decided to do more 5k training, but I’m setting my own rules and guidelines since I was having a hard time getting into the C25K trainer.  Gen Con is only five months away, and Jon and I want to do the Orc Stomp 5k, so I really need to start building endurance and maybe some speed. Last Saturday we walked the distance of a 5k at the walking track (a little more, actually, because of the way it’s laid out). I paced myself and didn’t have too much trouble. I also finished it in an hour and a half…slow, but I thought it was going to take me two hours, so faster than I thought.

Speaking of 5ks, I also want to sign up for the Glow Run in KC, but I have to wait until we know if we’re staying or going. I’ll obviously walk it, so I have to check and make sure they either don’t have a time limit or they have a long time limit.

Speaking of running, I’m still doing a little bit of it…and I’m getting better! When I do walk/run sets, I can run for about two minutes on my first run. I think I could do more on my second set if I wasn’t having a problem with ankle tightness and cramps. I think we’re going to go to the local running shop soon and get fitted for good shoes. It would be cool to run a little bit at either the Glow Run or the Orc Stomp.

Speaking of Gen Con, we’re officially going because we volunteered to work part time for AEG.  This means less time for scheduling events, but it means more gaming swag and the chance to hang with some cool people. We volunteered for Big Game Night last year and loved it, so we’re hoping this experience is just as fun. I think it will be.

I’m glad spring and summer are getting closer so I can spend more time outside. I haven’t gotten comfortable doing any sort of running on the treadmill, though I think at some point, I may have to stop being so scared and just do it.

Maybe after I figure out that ankle problem.

Off for a Twitter chat, a shower, some reading, and some sleep.  If you think about it, send good vibes our way. It would be nice to hear about a job for Jon so we can start planning for the rest of 2014.

Health Updates and March Goals

It’s 7:30 on a Saturday morning and I’m awake. In fact, I’ve been awake and up since 6:15. So weird. Despite what the experts say about waking up at the same time every day, I love sleeping in on the weekends. I suppose, though, that being up early and getting some stuff accomplished is okay too. You know what else is okay? Naps. And I plan on taking one this afternoon, sometime after going to town to workout and buy groceries and before the snow that we’re supposed to get this weekend hits.

I thought I’d do a health and fitness post this morning since there’s not a whole lot else going on, and because I could use a motivation boost. I said a few posts back that one of my monthly goals was going to be to get back in the gym three days a week. I didn’t meet that goal. I still managed to fit in exercise by taking walks, but there were a couple weeks I only made it to the gym once.

Over these past few weeks, I’ve struggled with activity, meaning I’m not getting enough of it. I can pinpoint a few reasons why:

1. The weather – Sure, it’s a poor excuse, but when it’s cold, I just want to be comfortable, and my idea of comfort is to be at home, warm, and snuggled in my recliner. The chilly temperatures already make me feel stiff and sore, so even though I know that exercise actually helps alleviate that, my brain instantly says “Why would you want to give your body more discomfort than it already has?”

2. Mental fatigue – Once again, I know the science that says exercise helps with mental fatigue, but by the end of the work day, I’m so drained (and sometimes discouraged), that I just don’t want to be around people. So I avoid the gym, and if it’s too cold, I just head home and indulge in sugar therapy instead of sweat therapy.

3. High workload – This one doesn’t have so much to do with making it to the gym as it does with my drop-off of walking activity on breaks and lunch. With the recent change in position, I’ve spent several days over the past couple weeks skipping my lunch hour and eating at my desk so I can fit in some more work. I hate to leave things when I’m on a roll, even though I know it tires me out and my brain needs that break. I’ve given in to the “I can get one more thing done” mentality, so it’s cut down on the twenty to thirty minute walk I was fitting in on my lunch hour. As for breaks…

4. Smoking – …I’ve been spending them with co-workers having a stress relief puff. I have a history with smoking. I used to love doing it, and I still enjoy a cigarette if I’m drinking. I find that the act of smoking and connecting with people helps calm my nerves during times of high stress. Even though I haven’t been drinking, I have been experiencing some anxiety, and this has been my outlet. Yes, I just admitted to trading in a really healthy habit of walking on break for a really unhealthy one of smoking on break.

5. Hydration – My problem with hydration has been a lack of. I’ve been craving soda and sweet coffee drinks. I’m not surprised when I feel sluggish and experience ankle cramps when I exercise because I know I haven’t drank enough water.

While these are all issues I’m relating to physical activity, the fact is that exercising also helps my mental and emotional health, both of which I really need to focus on as well to avoid work burnout and to maintain the level of productivity I currently need.

One of my March goals was to start a strength training routine again, and while I still plan on doing that, I’m also making it a point to face the above listed issues head on. While I can’t do anything about the weather, I can control the other things to an extent.

So the rest of March goals are going to be to handle these issues now and get back on track with the healthy habits I’d started at the beginning of the year: walking on breaks, stopping the smoking, taking lunches, and drinking a lot of water. If I can tackle these and reset my attitude, I think I might set some more challenging goals for April (C25K, I know you’re waiting for me).

A.

 

 

 

Valentines and Palentines

Jon and I are super non-traditional about Valentine’s Day. I’ve never been a big fan of V-Day, though this year I was a lot less cynical about it. Since Jon and I are always doing stuff together, Valentine’s Day just seems like any other day to us. Of course, that’s a personal thing, and I hope other people had fun doing whatever they do on Valentine’s Day.

We decided to ignore the commercials that said we were horrible people if we didn’t buy our significant other flowers/jewelry/a giant teddy bear. Instead, we chose things we actually wanted. Jon got some gaming supplies (play mat and sleeves for MtG) and I’m going to treat myself next weekend to some spa type things while he’s out of town (manicure time).

We did the whole Palentine’s Day thing. Jon went the game store, and I got together with the normal crew for some hang time and a Twitter party, which also included a fun Twitter conversation with my brother-in-law.

On Saturday, Jon and I chilled, then hijacked Terry’s boys and took them to see The LEGO Movie with us. All four of us liked it. It was a really fun movie, and the kids are always well behaved, so no worries there. There were so many kids in the theater, but we knew that going in, so it wasn’t obnoxious. We didn’t mind the child chatter during the movie.

Today we hit the gym, went out to eat at Longhorn’s, and went to gaming. I shared it on Twitter, but not FB or the blog – I logged a half hour on the elliptical machine last week. It’s been several years since I’ve been able to do that, so I felt super accomplished. I only logged 20 today before shifting to one of the other machines, but logging anything more than a few minutes on the elliptical is a pretty big thing for me.

The weekend was relaxing, but as always, I’m sad that Sunday night means returning to the work week. Going to shower and read myself to sleep in preparation for whatever Monday’s going to through at me.

A.

 

Mellow Weekend and Learning All The Things

The weekend was fairly uneventful, but highly relaxing. I was able to counteract the feeling of being a complete lump by getting to the gym both days, which then made me feel okay about vegging out. Not that I should feel guilty about down time, but sometimes my mind wanders to what I should be doing. This often equates to “I should exercise” and “I should clean something.”

I counteracted both of these this weekend. I used the gym to quiet the exercise voice and I made it a point to do twenty minutes of cleaning each day so I could get that done and out of the way (Jon helped me with this, because he’s awesome). The twenty minutes has been effective. The house is pretty nice and tidy right now, and we finally got a start on packing for an eventual move and paring down our pile of stuff.

Once those two things were done, I was able to enjoy a lot of reading time (including staying up super late on Friday night), some movie time, and some knitting. I also did some writing. The other night I had an idea for a new story, so I started writing it. I decided to make it a habit to write 1000 words a day. It’s not a lot, but it keeps me on track and it limits me from burning out in a few days. Plus, I’ve noticed that some days the words come easy, and other days it’s like sludging through mud to make a coherent sentence. The story isn’t going the way I thought it would, but I’m going to see it through to the end to determine if there’s anything viable there.

Today was mentally taxing. Learning a new job is tough, and I’m currently working on a challenging project that is making me question my abilities. Luckily, I’m getting help and support from co-workers, but I’m having a hard time keeping my confidence up. I’ve toyed with the thought of asking to keep my old position, but I’m pretty sure that comes from fear and stress. I have to keep telling myself that at some point in the near future I’ll learn this and it won’t be so hard and I’ll be back to knowing that I have a few talents to offer up. Right now, though, I just need to breathe and try not to focus on just how incompetent I feel.

Day jobs, right?

Though I was pretty hyped about making it to the gym over the weekend, we decided today was a good day to just head home. I have no regrets. We did our round of cleaning the apartment, though I have a few more things to do before bed to prep for housesitting the next couple of nights. I also managed to watch some of the newest lecture videos from my Coursera course, and after I catch up on some blogs, I’ll have plenty of time to read before bed. Yay for time management!

On that note, Harry Dresden is waiting for me, so I’m off for the night.

A.

February Goals and Progress with Revision

This past weekend was spent doing almost nothing. I think I was still fighting an infection because the stomach pain from the sickness I had last week didn’t go away, so I wasn’t feeling up to doing anything besides sitting around and reading and watching cute movies on Netflix. The highlight of the weekend (or lowlight as it were) was probably a bad haircut, though realizing it as a bad haircut was kind of a delayed reaction. Either way, I’ll be rocking the headbands for the next few weeks. My hair grows fast, though.

My stomach pains seem to have gone away. I’m avoiding soda and carbonation until I know for sure, but today was good. I was even able to walk on my breaks and get a workout in at the gym before we headed home. We’re waiting for a big snowstorm to hit. The city of Manhattan and the university and all the schools are already closed for tomorrow. My place of work is still open, however. If it’s not too bad in the morning, I’ll probably still go in. Current projects are much easier on my dual monitors. But if it’s bad in the morning, I’m prepared to work from home.

Since we’re into a new month, I’ve been trying to come up with some good goals for February. My writing goals included putting together the second draft of my novel and sending it to my beta readers, a goal which I accomplished tonight. I’ve set the deadline for the end of this month, which means March will be more revision and formatting. But now, other than the small bit of anxiety I’m getting with actually putting my work out there with the intention of maybe publishing it, I can rest for a few weeks and focus on some other things.

Seriously…even if this book doesn’t happen and even if everyone who reads it hates it, I’m going to feel good about the fact that I’ve gotten this far.

The two main goals for this month are going to be to finish my current/newest knitting project and to recommit to three days a week at the gym. Though I’ve been active (with the exception of last week, which turned into a seven day rest to heal from my illness), I haven’t been putting in the gym time, which is fine, except I’m paying for the membership. Since this might go away soon, depending on the job and money situation, I feel I should take advantage while I have it. Once the weather gets warmer, I’m going to be putting my goal focus into walking and running goals, so might as well take advantage of the gym while the weather dictates.

I may come up with some other goals later. My brain is all over the place right now.

It’s past my bedtime and work is likely to still happen tomorrow, so I’d better get a shower and get some sleep.

Side note: Cress releases tomorrow! I can’t wait! I’d be tempted to stay up until midnight to download it, but that will lead to starting it, which will lead to staying up all night reading it, which means nothing would get done tomorrow, and I need to be functional.

A.

 

 

Unplugging, Good Books, and Outdoor Therapy

Last night, I decided to just “unplug” for the evening. For me, this doesn’t mean going completely without technology, something I really struggle with. I like having my phone handy, I use my eReader to read, and I like kicking back with a few episodes of something on Netflix during dinner or knitting. For me, unplugging just means saying no to the computer. The problem with getting online is that I tend to find ways to waste more time than I find ways to be productive, usually playing Candy Crush Saga and going over my Twitter and Facebook feeds. While I usually enjoy that, and I like reading articles that come up on both, I felt like I was starting to get sucked into a lot of unproductive internet time.

Rather than doing anything physically productive, I also decided to take a “sit on my butt all night” night. It was really nice. I was up later than I should have been, finishing the second book in The Lunar Chronicles and reading the first five chapters of the third book that doesn’t come out until February 4th. Waiting is kind of like torture. Seriously. I love this series. I don’t get “fangirl” over a lot of things, but The Lunar Chronicles hits all the right reader chords with me.

Whether it was not staring at a computer screen for hours or the lack of a full night’s sleep, I felt a little bit better today than I have this whole week. It could also correlate with the fact that the weather is slightly better and we’re that much closer to the weekend, and thus far, the weather people are giving us a decent forecast. These makes me happy.  I don’t know when the mental shift happened, but being outdoors gives me a mental boost, and this winter I’m definitely craving the good weather that lets us get out and do things.

Since the weather was agreeable tonight, we went out to the rec center for some outdoor therapy. I did a zombie mission but didn’t finish it due to the need to find a bathroom (so sad they closed the ones at the center for the winter). I had about four zombie chases, and I loved every one of them. I might not be able to run for a long time, but I like the little bursts I can do.

At home, I revised a chapter of my novel. I’m getting critical again, and it’s making me want to stop, even though I really do want to revise the whole thing. I buzzed around on the internet, did some more fangirl things, and am going to end the night with a shower and some reading. All in all, I managed to accomplish some things today, and I think that was definitely helpful in fighting off the mental crud I’ve been dealing with the past few days.

Let’s hear it for Friday!

A.

Happy Christmas Eve

I hope everyone is having a great kick off to the holiday season. I know a lot of people don’t do much on Xmas Eve, but in my memory banks, the eve is just as important as the day itself. It was the day we celebrated with the extended family when I was young. We’d go to my grandparents’ house, and my uncles and aunts and cousins would be there. We’d have a big Italian dinner and lots of snacks and homemade fruit punch. There was homemade sweet cannoli for desert, and we’d spend the day watching TV, playing games, and at some point singing Christmas carols. I wasn’t always excited about the caroling, but I loved my aunt and grandma for getting us all to try it.

Christmas now is very different. My family is mostly in Michigan and with the coming of the next generations (and the loss of my grandparents, who I especially miss during the holidays), the extended family doesn’t come together anymore. This year, Jon and I will be spending Christmas together with no big plans and no gift exchanges. While this sounds sad, it’s really not. First of all, I love spending time with Jon, and this will just be another opportunity to do some fun stuff together.  Second, because we don’t know what the near future holds, we’re opting out of giving each other gifts, but since we gift each other little things through the rest of the year, it doesn’t feel like a loss.  In fact, when we find out where we’re going to end up, I figure we’ll be gifting ourselves with local museum, gym, and zoo memberships anyway.

I miss my family, but I’ll talk to them on Christmas Day, and I’ll be honest: I’m sometimes not the best person to be around when I get anxious. Even though I don’t spend holidays with them, when we visit during non-holidays, I’m much better and not so stressed, and without the stress of the holidays, I tend to think the quality of our time together is higher.

So that’s my Christmas Eve story, and though it sounds like a bit of a downer, I’m actually really okay this season. Which is a plus, because the holidays can be a sad time for a lot of people. Now…onward to what I’ve been doing.

Yesterday was another bitterly cold day, but we braved it to make it to the gym. I got a much better workout in than I did on Sunday, doing treadmill walking intervals and finishing out with some of the sit down stepper (which is what I’m doing for my arms until I get my nerve up to get back into strength training). I started Season 2 of Zombies, Run and completed the first mission. I’d like to run the chases, but I’m barely comfortable walking on the treadmill, much less jogging it. I’ll wait until I can walk outside again.

Back at the Fortress of Forsh, we had a pot roast dinner and caught up on American Horror Story. Later, Jon watched The Man with the Iron Fists, which I found amusing, though I was trying to watch bits and pieces of it and read my book at the same time. I managed to finish my book before calling it a night. It was good, but I thought it had a sad ending.

Work today went by fast, partially because there was a lot to do and partially because they let us out early. Though we had big plans to go out and look at lights, we just stayed in. I have no regrets. Tomorrow is Christmas and we’re seeing a couple of movies, so our window for light gazing is still open. Plus, it’s supposed to be warmer tomorrow. Tonight, I’m on a reading kick. I finished one book and will likely finish another one before I fall asleep. I tend to get in a reading mode towards the end of the year. There’s no way I’m going to meet my 2013 Goodreads challenge, but I’m pretty sure I’ll be signing up again for the 2014 one, still aiming to read 100 books (even if I fail…again).

Hopefully I’ll have some fun light pics to share tomorrow! Until then, Merry Christmas!

A.

Wintery Weekend

Last year, I was able to find some good things about winter. Then again, it was pretty mild. This year, there are no redeeming qualities to this season. I’m hating it more than I’ve hated it since moving out of Michigan, and this weekend only solidified that. Don’t get me wrong, I know other parts of the country are having it ten times worse. But here in my little corner of the world, winter can leave and never come back.

Friday night, we made it to the gym then went to Imperial Garden for dinner since I’d been craving some sweet and sour chicken. We went to Terry and Erica’s for our scheduled game night, but we didn’t game because we were all brain fried. So we visited and introduced them to some pretty awesomely bad fan fiction on the web.

The snow hit on Saturday, and we waited too long to get out and take a walk. Even though the morning was clear, we putzed around, and by the time we finally did go outside, the sleet sent us right back in. I finished some knitting projects and watched several hours of “Cheers.” Still, by the end of the day I was super restless. Besides the fact that we didn’t get out to do anything, the fact that I felt trapped by the weather just made me want to go out and do something that much more. I did do a little cleaning, some reading, and some putzing on the web, but nothing really active.

The sun came out this afternoon, and the plow trucks did a fair job of clearing the roads, so we headed into town for gym and gaming. Though I was pretty happy to get back into the gym, I didn’t hydrate well beforehand, so my feet hurt and I felt lethargic. Still, I exercised for about a half hour and finished Season 1 of Zombies, Run. I found out tonight that the initial purchase doesn’t give you all the new seasons, so tonight I bought the Season 2 pass so I can continue. At some point, I’ll have to buy season 3, but I think that’s a little further down the timeline (it’s not even released yet).

We made it to our Pathfinder game, doing a holiday one shot, and then Jon and I did a little bit of shopping to get dinner for tonight and lunches for the week. Things are going to take a little planning since we’re staying at Forsh’s the next two nights and we’ll want to plan what we’re making on Christmas Day. I think the day after Christmas will be chili since we both have that day off. I hope the weather is nice. I’d like to use the time off to get out and do some walking and geocaching.

As I mentioned before, I’ve been watching a lot of “Cheers” since it’s on Netflix. I put it on on a whim last week and realized how much I enjoyed it, both for the amusement and the nostalgia. It’s also really interesting to see how the show handled certain issues back then and how different it is from today. Some of the jokes throughout the show wouldn’t be acceptable today, especially those involving racism or gays. There have also been at least two scenes (I’m only in season 2) in which someone attempts sexual assault on Diane and the laugh track continues. She then proceeds to say how it was her fault. Yes, times have definitely changed. It’s also kind of strange that as an adult watching the show, I realize what a jerk Sam is and how dysfunctional his relationship with Diane is. It doesn’t help that I can’t stand Diane. I think she’s one of the worst TV characters ever. Luckily, the rest of the cast makes up for her.

Tomorrow’s Monday, and our work deadlines have been pushed up due to the holiday, so I need to get some rest so I can kick butt tomorrow. Off to shower and bed.

Stay safe out there.

A.