🔷 Ivan turned 43 last Monday!
Not the most exciting day to have a birthday (a Monday), but we were able to clear the decks and go out for (what else?) Mexican food. His brother + his gf joined us, and I stealthily told the waitress it was his birthday when he went to the bathroom. They played Las mañanitas (the birthday song in Mexico) and brought out mini churros with whipped cream and sprinkles. 🙂
At home, we did a quick gift opening before bed. Asher got him a pair of athletic shorts, I bought him some nice sweatpants, and Ethan (with a bit of my help) bought him some Maui Jim sunglasses.
This was a BIG gift from Ethan, but he insisted that he wanted to get his dad a really nice gift this year. He said that his dad always gets him really, really nice gifts and that he finally wanted to reciprocate. (Historically I’ve always just had the boys pick out fairly cheap items when they’re buying with their own money, more as just a little “gesture”, and then I’d buy the “real” gift/s.)
Ethan is not a big spender at all though, so he has tons of money just sitting in the bank now. (He started working at McDonald’s right after he turned 14, and he is now just 4 months shy of 16!)
Anyway, we talked through it first and he seemed to be fully aware and on board with the amount he was spending. I think he was actually pleased that he could do this! So, I said okay! It’s his money, after all. I talked him into letting me help cover a little part of it, at least. 🙂 I actually think it’s pretty cool that he’s built up the nest egg he has already, at his young age. (Don’t worry, he has plllllllenty of free time, too/ does extracurriculars/ etc- not like he’s working all the time or anything.)
🔷 Strength workouts are going well; cardio, not so much
My workouts have not exactly followed the super strict, rigid schedule that I would prefer, but they’re still happening consistently. I am happy enough with this.
I’m REALLY enjoying these Momentum by Sohee workouts. Doing 4x/ week in the gym and I just find these workouts super fun. Really happy with the switch at this point!
I bench pressed 80 lbs x5 reps for 3 sets the other morning which I was proud of! (This is a lot, or a little, depending on who you are and who you ask. 🙂 For my noodle arms, it’s decent!)
Not sure what my “PR” is from years back (I don’t fret about “maxing” my weight, anyway, but I do try to increase from week to week/ over the course of a month.) This is definitely a recent PR, if nothing else. It’s a little tricky to push myself if I don’t have a spotter, which I usually do not, unless I happen to have one of the boys with me. This is the most I felt comfortable trying on my own.
Cardio….. umm… yeah. That’s not been going so well since I shelved running. Turns out I guess I apparently accidentally shelved mostly all cardio. Ah, well. Life has just felt kind of uncomfortably full and all over the place, plus I’ve been out of town the last two weekends + a bunch of busy evenings. I’m not really going to worry about it.
On the plus side, I do walk most days, and, I subbed at indoor volleyball Wednesday night! So that was some cardio. 😉
🔷 Speaking of walks….
Really excited that we’ve had quite spring-like weather for our early March. The time change had me dragging a little on that first Monday morning, but otherwise no biggie. I’ve been out most weekday mornings with Charlie for 25-30 minutes and I love that part of the day.
Saturday evening walk:
🔷 Ideal Week sketch
I borrowed Sarah’s idea and sketched out an “ideal week” the other day. (Started on paper, but then I of course moved it to Google Calendar….).
If you’re not familiar with the concept, it’s exactly what it sounds like- where you sketch out what you’d like your week to look like, in your ideal week. 😉
You’re supposed to take into account the big rocks in your week in a given season- things you know have to be there; say, your work hours. Your commute. Driving to soccer practice. Etc.
Then you can start piecing together the rest of what you’d like the week to look like from there. When does it work to exercise/walk? Which days? What time? Which days do you want to cook? What’s a good takeout night? When do chores get done? When do you read your book? Who gets the groceries and when? When is there space for TV time or a movie night? Etc.
It’s a really great exercise to help sort of zoom out and just think about how all the various parts of life can fit together. The idea isn’t necessarily to really follow that schedule, exactly, but more to use it as a guiding template. Like a loose… guide.
For me, it’s also really helpful to open my eyes to how much time I actually have (or don’t) for things. (I find it can be easy to overestimate what I can really do in one day. By sketching out my day, for example, with a morning workout, a dog walk, driving Asher to school, a shower, work, dinner prep/ cooking, etc… I can see, okay, yeah. There is simply not a lot of wiggle room on many of these days. So if I want to fit certain other things in, I may need to be a little creative, or, simply be quite intentional about my time use.)
I do find it tricky to do this for our evenings because we have a lot of variability. But even thinking through my mornings/ work days/ bedtime routines was helpful.
🔷 We were in Costa Rica at this time last year, and I want to go back…
Facebook and Amazon Photos have been inundating me with memories from our Costa Rica trip (we left on March 11 last year). Ahhhhh I loved that trip so much. I love all of our trips, but I just really, really loved that one.
My mom texted me this pic the other day (I guess she is getting the memories popping up on her phone, too):
Today I got Rio Celeste memories…. gahhhh…. that blue water…..
(Do you have a certain past trip that you constantly daydream about??)
🔷 Asher unofficially kicked off spring soccer tonight.
I say unofficially because it was just a scrimmage, not a real league game. They’ve only been practicing on a sort of random schedule at indoor gyms so far (off season training, but Asher was prioritizing swim (which is now on break). The regular outdoor spring soccer season will be gearing up now soon though.
He’s also doing school volleyball this spring and swim team starts back up in a few weeks, so….. yeah. 😳
🔷Documenting Charlie’s current “hairstyle” 😅
When Charlie got groomed last time, we felt it was really SHORT. (I know, I realize hair has to be a little too short at first or else it will be all overgrown right away. But it took a good week before we really liked how it looked at all.)
The groomer is saying we need to bring him in every 5 weeks (at $100 a pop) due to his curly/high maintenance fur. Eek. That is really….often. Anyway, that’s a story for another day (we may be groomer shopping?), but his fur has now grown to a real sweet spot at about 3 weeks post groom.
I was trying to snap some pics today to document our “preferred look”, for future reference.
Oh, and this was funny… I was leaving for the gym this evening (Ethan was home, so Charlie wasn’t even going in the crate or anything), and look how he sat staring after me as I left:
Then he gave me the concerned/unhappy- tail-down pose:
Oh, Charlie. I told Ivan that I think in Charlie’s Ideal Week, I would never, ever leave the house. 😅😅
Okay, that’s a lot of random updates! Tell me your thoughts. Yay or nay on letting my 15 year old buy his dad an expensive birthday gift? How are your workouts going? Do you walk outside? Have you ever sketched an ideal week? Got a favorite vacation memory?? Any fun trips coming up? Any soccer players at your house? Does your dog get groomed?? How often?! On a scale of 1-10, how cute is Charlie?! 😂
Daily Gratitude:
I am grateful for being home this weekend. After 2 weekends in a row away, and more away time coming up soon, I needed this one!
GRATEFUL KAE 
Charlie is adorable
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Thank you so much! I think so too!!! 🙂
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Happy Birthday, Ivan! My workouts are going ok, but I need to stick to a more consistent schedule. I hope we can keep progressing!
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Consistency is key! I feel like as long as I keep doing it more often than not, that’s what counts. I no longer stress about missing a workout here or there- I know that in the big picture that doesn’t matter. Overall consistency I think is most important! Good luck to you with that 🙂
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like you, I have been not running and instead strength training. I kept pulling muscles while running, so I put it to the side for now if not for good. Thank you for sharing!!
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Ouch, yeah that doesn’t sound fun! For me it’s just mostly I think the weather is too cold for it to be enjoyable outside right now. And, I’m just not sure I truly enjoy running anymore like I used to. I LOVE strength training, so it makes more sense to focus on that (and I feel like there are greater overall benefits to it for me vs running, too). But, I do feel like some cardio is important to be in the mix, so I need to keep working on making some time for SOME sort of cardio. (Although my lower body strength workouts definitely get my heart rate up, too.) What do you do for strength workouts? Your own programming or do you follow videos, etc?
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I’ve been using my parents peloton subscription lol. I have been loving it!!
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Happy birthday Ivan! So sweet of Ethan spending his saving for a nice gift. Ivan must be so happy to receive the gift. Charlie is super cute indeed.
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Yeah, I thought it was so cute. 🙂
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I haven’t walked much lately as I am
Running a lot and want to let my ankle rest when not running. Otherwise I’d love to walk more if the location is as nice as yours. Ideal week sounds interesting, I haven’t done it as girls activities varies by day. I may do one and see how far from an ideal one.
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Charlie is definitely a 10!! What a cutie!!
I think it is totally fine to let Ethan buy a nicer gift for his dad. He has a lot saved from the sounds of it so it wasn’t a significant expense. And in this stage of life where he doesn’t really have expenses, I think it is ok to splurge a bit to show his appreciation for his dad. It is very sweet than he wanted to do that! HBD to Ivan! We are only about a month apart as I turned 43 in Feb!
We have been outside quite a bit with the boys when it’s been nice out. Taco is new to scooting so we just stay on our block. So it’s lots of walking back and forth and back and forth. I got a short walk in while I was in Chicago. I wanted to take a longer one but ended up working late and then wanted to FaceTime with the boys before dinner. But at least I got a bit of a walk in before my dinner plans.
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Oh that’s right, I didn’t even put it together that you guys are so close in age! This is the half of the year where Ivan and I are “3 years apart” (I’m still 40, he’s 43.) But I am already coming up on 40 1/12 in April! hahaha.
Our weather has plummeted back into winter temps and I’m NOT HAPPY about it. I walked Charlie yesterday morning and it was only in the 20s and I was soooo cranky!! I started daydreaming about moving somewhere where it’s warmer year round because although I don’t mind winter sometimes, I feel like I’m getting less and less interested in the snow/cold weather as I get older!
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That look on Charlie’s face is priceless! $100 a pop for a haircut is a lot! That is more than a human haircut! Can you do it yourself? Does his hair have to be cut? What would happen if you just let it go; would it eventually hit a stopping point?
My workouts have been basically nil. I took a hike yesterday but have not been running or doing strength training. I have been moving a lot of boxes lately, and will do it again today, so I am going to call that my workout for the week. I also had some wine yesterday, so I guess I also did 6 oz curls 🙂
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So, it’s complicated with his fur because he is largely toy poodle. (Cavalier King Charles Spaniel mixed with Toy Poodle, but I think more Poodle than Spaniel.) The groomer said he has the most high maintenance fur there basically is… his more adult coat fur seems to be coming in in very tight curls! So if we leave it long it will get matted, unfortunately. And doing it ourselves would probably be fairly complicated. I think there’s quite an art to dog grooming, more than we realize! I think all groomers are expensive but I feel like the one we’re at is even “Extra” expensive. (Was recommended by a friend, which is why we went there, but I have another friend who recommended a different one so I want to comparison shop a bit and see…it’s hard though because the groomer also has to be experienced with these curly haired breeds to make them look nice and not funny, which can happen with these breeds if they are cut right.)
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Yay to letting Ethan buy the gift! He earned the money and he chose to spend it in a way that made him happy. Also yay to you pitching in after he made the choice!
After years of being a slave to distance running, I love my current fitness life where I work out most but not all of the time. In theory I could do all of my strength training workouts AND keep up with the puppy, but it would be a tight schedule and not enjoyable so I’m doing less strength work right now.
I love getting outside for a good walk around the neighborhood. Right now I’m doing a ton of walking, but in very different circumstances than I’m used to. I started a hiking challenge back in January so I’m either going out to new places for very long hikes, or I’m out with the dog. Our yard isn’t fenced so anytime she goes outside we go outside. At best we’re doing half loops of the block, but most of it is endless laps around the backyard.
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I think your workout routine sounds really great! You seem very balanced and I think we’re generally on the same page there. It is HARD to balance anything with a puppy. I found that out firsthand. So don’t even stress right now- it will get easier in a few more months down the road! And getting outside with puppy sounds like a perfect way to still get some movement/steps in, even if not formal exercise.
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10 isn’t high enough for a Charlie rating! His cuteness is off the charts! I agree that sounds expensive for the groomer- I hope you can find a more reasonable option.
I think it’s awesome that Ethan wanted to buy Ivan an expensive gift. I would have said no if it was something ridiculous that Ivan would never use, but it sounds like he was thoughtful about his choice. I’ll bet Ivan was surprised!
I’ve never sketched an ideal week, but now I want to. And, those Costa Rica photos are INCREDIBLE!
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Thank you! I think he’s off the charts, too. 🙂 SHU just did a whole podcast episode this week on the Ideal Week concept! So maybe check that out! (on Best Laid Plans)
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Happy birthday to your husband! I think it’s so sweet that your son wanted to splurge on a really special gift for his dad. And you’re right — it’s his money, and it sounds like you talked through the ramifications of making a bigger purchase. Very cool!
Love Charlie’s ideal fur, and his sad face as you depart!!! Such a cutie!
I can see why you are dreaming about last year’s vacation. It looks so spectacular. I think with fondness of the anniversary trip my husband and I took a few years ago. It was SO fun and I wish we could do it again.
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Where did you guys go?? I don’t think I had discovered your blog yet whenever that was… now I want to know!!! 🙂
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We spent ten days in Austria and Germany! It was so fun.
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Aww, I think it’s so nice that Ethan wanted to buy a nice gift for his dad. How thoughtful!
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Happy belated birthday to Ivan!
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