This has been a vacation week from my full time job, but I’ve been keeping busy. I’ve covered an extra shift at the gym, and my author has been giving me more final work to do on the chapters, so I’m keeping my brain active too. Read more
Ok, maybe these are not so little! But the pictures included in this post are ones where I just realized the simple beauty that is always around me. I love cloudy days (good thing I want to move to the pacific northwest, huh?)
When I was in St. Lucia, if I sat still enough, I was treated to the sight of so many sand crabs digging out their homes, and I marveled at how efficiently they worked, plus how well they blended in with their surroundings. And finally, the last photo of the sky through the trees – my ex-boyfriend got me into noticing the leaves on trees a lot more. I took this last photo below while on our field trip in St. Lucia. Because it’s so humid, the climate is basically like a rain forest. Read more
Well, it was my first week back after the conference, and it was a busy one. Sorry I have not been writing much lately but I’ve been extremely busy and there just don’t seem to be enough hours in the day, sometimes. I know I’m not alone in thinking this way. Anyway, I hope that will change after this weekend. It’ll be my second attempt at passing the CES (corrective exercise science) certification exam. You need 70 points to pass, and on my first attempt, well, I got 69. My chiropractor said that’s pretty good considering I have not gone to an actual school to learn all of this. Self-learning anatomy and physiology is really hard, trust me. I also know that I sometimes freak out when a test is timed, as this one is. (So, if I normally read your blog and make comments and haven’t done so this past week or two, I plan on catching up!) Read more
Just a very quick post before I head down to the beach to take a walk along the water’s edge… (btw, I had meant to take this bird’s photo while he was stationary but as I got closer, he took to the air. I think the picture came out even better that way!)
I will write more over the next few days, and add in lots of pictures of St. Lucia. I put a few on facebook but that doesn’t begin to scratch the surface of how many I took! (The little guy below was pretty friendly – we met him on our tour on Wednesday afternoon and he even let me pick him up and hold him!)
As I sat down to write this, my little calico Callie came over and started rubbing all up against my computer, so she starts off my list – I’m so thankful for all of my animals and their continuing to remain healthy even as they age. I like to think I have something to do with it, by giving them good food and a good home where they feel safe and can sleep as much as they want. Or, they could just have really good genes. 🙂
I’m all packed up and ready to go on my trip to St. Lucia!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I know people think all I do when there is sit on the beach, but really, our conference is a good couple days with events at night as well, so I won’t have much free time after my first night there, until pretty much my last day there before I fly back. But don’t worry, I’ll still take lots of pics of the beach for all of you!! (Do I sound like I”m gloating?? Well, ok…maybe a little….lol) I’m thankful my roomie is here to take care of all of the furballs – makes me feel a lot better to know their environment doesn’t have to change just because I’m traveling. Especially for Osito, that makes me very thankful. She tends to get nervous when she is in a strange place, which is understandable with her lack of vision.
With the help of two very good friends, I am feeling pretty good about the decision I made this week, to move to Washington State by next fall, if my savings plan works out the way I want it to. My hope is to start attending the National Personal Training Institute in Renton, WA in September, for their 6 month program. It’s $6300 if you pay it all up front, and it lasts for 6 months. The program consists of 300 hours of classroom time, and 200 hours of hands on time, which also includes an internship. They do have a program here around Boston, but really, I want to meet people in the field where I will be living, so I’ll put off attending until I move. One of my brother’s lifelong friends lives out there now, and he’s been super helpful in answering all my inane questions.
With the decision to move, I have put off my decision to buy an RV or a tiny home and land. Since I don’t know for sure where I will end up doing personal training with clients, and I’m not familiar with the Seattle area, it just doesn’t make sense. Plus, I looked into the campgrounds near the Seattle area, even the state parks, and it would still end up costing me at the very least around 500 but more likely closer to 750/800 a month to rent a spot. I can get an apartment for about 650-700, I think, so financially, it just makes more sense to rent at first. Plus, WA does not have income tax, and Seattle’s minimum wage is $15!!!! But they make up for that lack of income tax with very high property taxes. Just something else to think about. I
I’ll also slow down my debt repayment for a bit to stockpile savings. I will still make at least double payments on the private loan. I think I’m better at stockpiling savings, and then if I can, pay a chunk of it before I move. We’ll see. The plan is still evolving, but with my friend L’s help, I saw last night it’s financially feasible for me to do this, and (hopefully, which is my word, not hers) not have to touch the money I’ve already saved for the tiny home. Honestly, my fascination for tiny homes began when I saw people living in these tiny apartments. So now, I’m hoping my unattachment to things will help me find a small place out there that will also hopefully be easier on my wallet. It’s going to all be about living simpler. I’m excited at the thought of downsizing my space even more.
I’m grateful for boxes. Why boxes, you ask? Well, they give my animals something to do, which is entertain me with their silly antics! I got lots of packages delivered this week (I get their pet food online), so there has been much exploring being done by my boys, Max and Sebastian.
I’m feeling like my life is coming together, like I’m figuring out my purpose. And it’s a good feeling. I hope you will all have a wonderful fourth of July!
I came in late to work on Monday because of an appointment and because our policy is either you make up the time or have to take an entire half day off, I took the half day. It allowed me to spend time on my way home just gazing at the Charles, sitting (and laying part of the time) on a park bench, as if I didn’t have a care in the world. And I truly didn’t for that short period of time. I was still enough that even the baby geese felt safe enough to walk right past me.
As always, thanks for reading, and I hope you will all have a great weekend if I don’t post over it (although, I’m in a writing mood so you never know…)
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1. I haven’t fallen off my bike yet today – woohoo! Hey, it’s the little things, folks, the little things… (Explanation – I have fallen off of my bike the last two days in a row. I’m just glad I only got a bruise or two, and no broken bones.)
2. I was able to go to a Perform Better Functional Summit last weekend in Providence, RI. For the most part, the speakers were very good. A couple were impressed with themselves, but I’d been warned of those two egos before I went, so I wasn’t surprised. But honestly, I obtained a wealth of information and met a few very nice people. I’m sure that as with every profession, there is a lot of competition but can I just say – it was so nice to sit at a conference in really comfy clothes!!
3. The other night, my roommate and her boyfriend were cuddling with little baby Osito and they saw what they thought was a mole on her so they asked about it. We looked closer and it was a tick! So that reminded me to put her Vectra on her (it’s better than Advantix/Advantage? because it also protects animals from mosquitoes.) I’m just glad we found it, and she was such a trooper when we took it off of her. I’m just grateful my roomie’s boyfriend was there to help get it off. I don’t know what I would do if my little O were to get sick or get lyme’s disease. I’d be crushed.
4. The last few days have been so gorgeous outside, I can’t even describe it. It’s made me realize that what I do love about living around here is the greenness of spring and summer. So, it’s helped me decide that I will most likely be looking to move to Washington State when I make my move west. Coincidentally (or not) but I reconnected with an alum of the law school where I work this week, and she is in Seattle. So she gave me her thoughts about the place, and especially the winters.) It’s extremely green there, there are mountains everywhere, and the winters are nothing like the brutal cold and snow that we get here. I can deal with the rain – I actually like rainy days dispersed among the sunny ones, because it makes me appreciate the sunny ones all the more. Btw, the picture above is from my regular route with Osito in the evenings.
5. My roomie and I are motivated to help each other follow our dreams. We’ve got our goals on the wall, which we have even labeled with signs, “Wall of Dreams.” It’s a reminder everyday as to what we are working toward. We just have to remember to also live for and be happy with the present.
6. Speaking of the present time, or is it near future? A friend of mine gets married tomorrow, so I’m looking forward to seeing the culmination of her months of planning and stress! It’s going to be a casual affair and I know a bunch of people going, so it’ll be fun. And I’ve already found someone to hang with who also doesn’t dance!
If any of you reading this have lived/do live/traveled through Washington State, please let me know your thoughts! Is it good for the fitness industry? What did you think about the weather? Good things you can tell me about? Bad things? (I know there are a few of you who have already planted this idea in my mind….)
I hope you will all have a great weekend. If you’ve liked this post, please hit like or subscribe, or leave me a note!
It’s about 5 a.m. and I’m up because, well, I’m normally up at this time. But today I’m leaving at 6:30 to catch the T so I can also get a 7:30 a.m. commuter rail to Providence. I’m going to a conference/summit down there held by Perform Better and it’s for personal trainers and people in the fitness industry. So this is a really quick post!
1. I’m so glad I had the money back in May to pay for attending this conference, or that at least I prioritized and spent the money on the ticket. $289 was the Early Bird pricing, but I totally think it’s worth it. I am sponging up all the information I can get into my brain! Don’t get me wrong, I’m still learning things in my new career every day but not at this rate, since I’ve been doing it now for about 10 years. But it’s been really refreshing to be at a conference where the speakers occasionally swear, and it’s considered normal if you are wearing gym clothes!!
2. My Bonkers, who was feeling kind of crappy last week (to put it lightly, he was constipated, so pun intended, I suppose!) is feeling much better this week or at least it seems.
3. You can now buy your commuter rail tickets your phone. No standing in line, or anything like that. I wish they had had that technology back when I lived in the suburbs – life would have been so much easier then!
4. I’m so thankful for the support of friends and my family, especially my younger brother. When I made the hard decision to stop training for the marathon last week, you were all so supportive. And, sitting at the conference this week, feeling a ton of pain in my SI joint and glute, as well as my lower back, I know I made the right decision. I’m not working out over the next few days because of the schedule, so my body will get a rest, anyway. So, thank you, everyone, for supporting me.
Like I said, this is a very short post – please everyone, if you have liked it, please comment, subscribe or hit like! And also, more importantly, have a great and healthy weekend, whatever you are doing!
If you are friends with me on Facebook or know me In Real Life, you know I’ve had a sick kitty over the past week or so – my “elder statesman” as I like to call him, Bonkers. He’s my oldest cat, at about 13 years old. He’s the one who had a rough first year of life when he got out in the cold of winter and got frostbite on his ears. So both of his ears are much shorter than most cats, and they are rounded, so he looks like a super cute teddy bear.
1. The first thing I am thankful for is that Bonkers appears to be on the mend. I’m in the process of gradually changing his food to one that is very high in fiber. If any of you have or had pets, you know how stressful it can be when they are not feeling good. They can’t tell you what’s going on no matter how much they want to. (After a bout of diarrhea and vomiting, the medicine appeared to work too well and he became, well, constipated…poor guy….) I don’t even care that his bills amounted to almost $560 over the past week, all I care about is that he is feeling better. And he’s definitely showing signs – his appetite is returning, and he’s hanging out with us more.
2. It’s Friday, and I am really tired. But luckily, I don’t have to work on Saturday so I get at least one day off! (It’s the little things sometimes, really…)
3. My roomie got a job! She started on Thursday night, and I’m very happy for her. While I think my apartment is nice and all, I also think it could get depressing if you didn’t have anywhere else to go, ever. (Although there are all those furry creatures, so why would you ever want to leave them??) This will do wonders for her self esteem, I’m sure of it.
4. I get paid from the gym job this week. It will put me at almost halfway to my savings goal for the motor home. I should hit that halfway savings goal by next Friday!!
5. I have such wonderful friends, both in person and in real life. This week, two of my online friends, J & J, sent me a gym shirt that says “Beautiful is the New Strong” and I absolutely love it!! It’s bright blue with pink lettering, so it’s super girly and super me. 🙂 Was it coincidence that one of the stronger guys at the gym showed me how to this arm-hang thing? I think not. Ladies, never let yourself be intimidated at the gym. You are JUST as strong as they are, so get out there and lift heavy!! No two-pound dumbbells!!
6. We started getting 80+ degree days this week – woohoo!! You know what this means – topless running! (For those of you who used to read my old blog, you know what this means…)
What are you thankful for this week? Please drop me a line and let me know! And if you have liked this post, please hit like or subscribe!
As you can tell from my lack of posting this week, it’s been another busy one! So, as you can imagine, TGIF!!!
1. I am thankful that as soon as I decided to put less into my motor home savings account, I started getting even more hours from the gym! Those hours’ pay automatically go into that account, so I feel like I haven’t really lost ground, while at the same time, gaining ground on my debt. (For the next paycheck, it’s more than what would have normally gone in from my full time job!!)
I’ve also taken on a temporary roomie and her mom is paying rent to me for her, so that’s been a help as well. She’s also been a big help where the animals are concerned, and it’s nice to have someone around to talk to for a change, so it’s all good.
2. I got the picture you see above this week. The cat in the photo was a foster cat of mine for many, many months due to his “unique” litter box habits, or so we thought. Turns out, he just wanted to be able to go outside! Tookie is his name, and although he hated cats, he loves dogs! And Po, the very large dog you see in the photo, absolutely loves him! I just love this photo and the way it looks like Po is protecting Tookie while at the same time, sharing in whatever cool thing that they are looking at! I am grateful to his forever mom for sending me photos of him and keeping me updated on his antics. She said that as soon as they started letting him go outside, no more accidents. And he never strays far from the house, and doesn’t mind occasionally being “herded” back to the house by Po! (As of this Sunday, he will be with his new and forever family for a year!!!!!)
3. This week was graduation for the students at my school. That means we get our school back!!! 😉 And, the students at the college near me also graduated last week, so we get our neighborhood back!! (Mind you, they are not all horrible but it does make the place a bit quieter.)
4. I took the final exam for my online physiology and anatomy class. While I don’t feel like I retained a ton from the class, I got a 92! So it counts, woohoo! And the good thing is, I have the materials from the class to refer to in the future whenever I need them. (And honestly, not all of the class was relevant to what I will be doing for a new career, so it was good that I didn’t have to memorize a lot of stuff to then just later on dump out of the memory bank.)
5. My motorhome/tiny home land fund just hit another milestone!!! Woohoo!! It’s funny how once you set your mind to a goal, you don’t have the same problem saving money as you used to when you didn’t have a specific purpose in my mind for everything you spend. Now, when I spend money, I literally think to myself, “is this worth however long it will delay my motorhome dream coming true?”
6. While I am not happy or thankful that my oldest kitty, Bonkers, had to go to the vet this week for diarrhea and throwing up, and the resulting $407 bill, I am grateful that I have finally gotten to that place in my life where a bill like that doesn’t throw me into a tizzy and make me wonder, how is everything going to get paid this month? While I did use my CareCredit card for the first time, I’m able to pay it off this afternoon. And that card can only be used for medical expenses for myself or my animals. It’s the only reason I have it. Any of you who have pets know how it feels when they don’t feel good and they can’t tell you why. It’s scary. He seems to be feeling at least a bit better, and my roomie got him to take his pill yesterday by grinding it into a pulp and then mixing it into his food. We can’t get him to eat much of the W/D food but he’s been eating some of the other type that I have around, so it’s better than nothing.
7. One last thing!! I don’t know how I didn’t know this before but my CES certification exam is open-book and can be taken at home. I am so thrilled about this. Although it’s 100 questions that must be completed in 90 minutes or less, and that’s not super easy, I am extremely grateful that I don’t have to memorize absolutely everything. I will make sure I know the material thoroughly, of course, but at my age, it’s been harder to memorize things like I did when studying for the Bar Exam.
It’s just a bit after 6:30 a.m. here and this post is done and in the books! And I’ve already done an hour’s worth of work! Woohoo!
If you’ve liked this post, please drop me a line below, hit “like” or subscribe! And thank you for reading – have a great weekend, folks.
Chasing Simple Dreams 