Would You Rather…
Last week, we played a rousing game of “Would You Rather,” with a deck of cards my sister bought along. I love a good “would you rather” question, but after the first one- “If you had a second head, would you rather have it facing the same way with full movement -OR- have it facing backwards fixed in place, unable to move?” my brother in law declared “I’m not playing this game!” and left the room. We eventually lured him back into the game and skipped the questions that were preposterous. Here are some of the more thought-provoking ones: “For the same amount of money, would you rather have a job you love and have to work 60 hours a week- OR- have a job you absolutely hate but only have to work 25 hours a week?” — Tough one. I voted for the second choice, but my son voted for the first, saying that working five hours a day at a job you absolutely hate would make your life miserable. “Would you rather be filthy rich- OR- command tremendous respect (but not both)?” —- We all gave the only correct answer (ha ha) which was, be filthy rich, except for my brother in law. It should be noted that he’s also the only person I know who does NOT want to win the lottery. “Would you rather be forced to watch The Sound of Music continuously for 48 hours- OR- drive cross-country with Barry Manilow singing on the radio the whole time?” BOTH! BOTH! I love The Sound of Music, and I would also love to drive cross-country. Having Barry Manilow playing the whole time wouldn’t ruin it for me at all. “Would you rather overcome your worst fears- OR- outsmart anyone who tries to screw you over?” This one led to an interesting discussion. The “outsmart” choosers said things like “Think what it would be like when you went to buy a car!” or “Think about all the corporations trying to screw you over!” True… I do feel like I’m getting screwed over in certain areas (hello, auto insurance) but I don’t feel like it’s personal. More like there are flaws in the system, rather than someone trying to screw me over personally. Rather, I think the thing that holds me back the most in life is fear. I couldn’t tell you exactly what I’m afraid of. What other people think? That I’ll look stupid? That I’m not good enough/smart enough/strong enough? I’m definitely getting better about this the older I get. I think most people get more confident and care less about what other people think as they get older. But I still see fear as my limiting factor. When am I going to overcome this? Do I really want my whole life to go by, and at the end wish I had done more instead of being afraid? That game of “Would You Rather,” which started with a question about having a second head, ended up giving me a lot to think about. Do you have an answer to any of these questions? Where would you position your second head? Top photo by Matt Walsh on Unsplash
Weekly Rundown- There Was Water Involved…
What an eventful week! My sister and brother in law were visiting, I had three days off of work, and we had so much fun. On the fitness front, when we left off last week my plan was to limit my runs to 3 miles, because of an annoying calf issue. We’ll just see how THAT worked out… thanks as always to Kim and Deborah for hosting the Weekly Rundown. Let’s get right into it! Sunday Well. This was a 3 mile run- I chose that distance because the painful pulling in my calf seemed to start around 3 and 1/2 miles… but today, it started at about 2 and 1/2 miles. I finished the run but somehow neglected to take a photo. Just picture me running with an angry scowl on my face. Monday Visitors arrived! But first- in the morning, a lower body strength workout from the Sally McRae app. Again no photo (blogging fail.) Tuesday In the morning I did an upper body workout from Sally’s app, and then did my old deadbug workout from Caroline Girvan. In the afternoon, my sister, BIL and I went for a walk. Finally, a photo! Wednesday Okay, well I guess I’ll try running? I foam rolled that calf really well, stretched, and headed out. I walked for a mile first- everything felt fine- but as soon as I started to run, my calf hurt. I stopped immediately and continued to walk, for 3 miles total. Not happy. Thursday This is the part of the post where I sound like a total jerk, because guess what- I have a pool! In my backyard! And I have a pool running flotation device, so I can run “laps” in the deep end. Yes, I have my own pool and I’m still going to complain about not being able to run (on land.) Friday We had to say goodbye to our guests (boo hoo!) and get back to real life. Nothing says “real like” like leg day at the gym! I did some of my favorite exercises from Sally McRae’s “Bulletproof Runner” workout, plus squats, Bulgarian split squats, reverse planks and side planks. Saturday Another pool run. 45 long minutes. Pool running is like running on the treadmill- you HAVE to throw in intervals or you’ll lose your mind. So this was actually a pretty hard workout, which I appreciated. Sunday On tap for today- um. I’m incredibly frustrated with my calf. It doesn’t hurt while I’m walking around, there’s no specific spot I can touch where it hurts- as a matter of fact massaging it feels good- and I’ve tried stretching and foam rolling. It pretty much only hurts when I run, although every once in a while I’ll step down in a funny way and feel that painful pulling. Since we had visitors this week, I put this issue on the back burner, but now I’m going to focus on fixing it. In the meantime, I’ll probably head out for a brisk walk today- I just can’t pool run every day! On another note, I’m watching the track and field Olympic trials, men’s 100 meter heats. HOW CAN THEY RUN SO FAST??? Just watching them makes my calf hurt, but I love it. I’m getting excited for the Olympics! Have you ever tried pool running? Are you watching any of the Olympic trials?
Friday Coffee Date
Sigh! This is a melancholy Friday for me because I had to say goodbye to my sister and brother in law. Remember how I didn’t know what to do with them while they were here? It turns out that was not a problem. Grab your coffee (tea) and I’ll tell you all about it! First of all, we had the best weather you could possibly hope for in June. Of course it was hot, but our actual temperature was lower than the temperature in Chicago (where they live.) It hardly rained while they were here, and it was pleasantly breezy. We went for a walk in the park, went to the local art museum, ate dinner out one night, drove along the beach in the evening, and oh yes- I kind of forgot WE HAVE A POOL. On two of the afternoons we just lounged by the pool, eating chips and salsa, drinking iced tea (and/or beers) and listening to a “Yacht Rock” playlist. It was like a trip down memory lane, because my sister and I reminisced about spending summer afternoons at the pool when we were kids. So many of those 70s songs, we knew from hearing them played over and over again at the pool-“Rikki Don’t Lose That Number,” “Sundown,” “Summer Breeze”… we re-named the playlist “Gen X Pool Party” (much to the consternation and embarrassment of my kids.) What I learned from all this is, there’s plenty to do where I live, even in the summer. I’m so busy complaining about the heat, I don’t take advantage of all the great things around me, including my own pool. This is a short coffee date because I am TIRED! It was a fun and busy three days… time to get back to normal life again. Do you have any songs you specifically remember from childhood? Top photo by Clay Banks on Unsplash
Reading and Eating
Well, I finished this book: I liked it, but didn’t LOVE it. It was interesting, complicated, and weird. In the afterword, Turton explains that he’s set himself the task of writing each of his books in a completely different style and genre (he says the next one will probably be a contemporary thriller.) I liked this one, and I liked The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, so I’ll probably read his next book as well. Since this is a busy week with visitors in town, I went with some light reading: It’s kind of weird to describe a book about a woman who may or may not have murdered her best friend as “light,” but it’s easy reading and funny. I’ve only just started it, but I think it will be an enjoyable read for the week. Let’s talk about EATING! We’ve had some delicious meals lately! Actually, now that I think about it, they were all today. First up was a brunch with Nora’s Just Egg Quiche, bagels, and (not pictured) fruit. And mimosas. JUST KIDDING. I don’t even like mimosas, and I can never understand the concept of boozing it up in the morning. We saved that for later in the day. Later, my son and I made epic burritos for dinner! He made the “meat” from Impossible ground, and we made lime cilantro rice, refried beans (well, those were from a can), guacamole, mango salsa, and a cabbage slaw. This meal was SO GOOD. But we didn’t stop there! For dessert I made Nora’s Best Vegan Cheesecake. It came out really well, and everyone loved it. Since that was a big day of cooking, Wednesday we’re eating out. Pizza party coming up on Thursday! What are you reading? Do you like mimosas at brunch? Top photo by Nadine Primeau on Unsplash (unfortunately that was not something we made- but it looks good!)