First of all! A big thanks to all of you who chimed in on my last post about Hawaii and travel expenses. There were some REALLY interesting comments as well as helpful tips! I just went back this morning (finally) and responded to every one of you!
Secondly, I am holding myself back from writing another whiny post because I just feel so overwhelmed in life right now. It feels very much like for some unknown reason, all margin has been suddenly and swiftly wiped out of my life.
I cannot quite put my finger on this; I suspect it’s a “combo deal”, with multiple players at hand.
But it just feels like between sleeping, working, cooking/eating/cleaning up, exercising, walking the dog, showering/personal care and general parenting duties (driving kids, etc.), every minute of every day suddenly seems accounted for.
This is not entirely true… I know, I know… Laura Vanderkam will probably come at me and could probably take a big red pen to my time logs and find a bunch of space I could use differently. 🤣🤣 But it still feels like this right now.
Maybe because the when the non-busy time slots do roll around, I’m just tired. I have just been both mentally and physically tired lately.
There certainly are probably a few things I “could” swap out proactively (e.g. Friday night nacho night, perhaps) and use that time to take care of some other lingering/overwhelming tasks….but basically, I just don’t want to. So, there’s that. LOL.
Anyway, that’s enough about that now. The gist is: I have a long list of things I/ we need to do. Some are urgent, some less so. Time feels scarce. April and May are crazy months here. Hawaii planning has been a recent dominator of my time- this is temporary, but real. Work has been annoyingly busy. Apparently, I no longer have time to blog regularly. I need to work smarter, not harder, in general; some of my planning/organizing techniques have fallen by the wayside, and it shows.
Or, in the words of Rebecca Lynn Howard, “I need a vacation from my life….Me and my husband, we need a wife.” (Okay, this country song’s ~early 2000’s lyrics are probably a little outdated…I feel like no songwriter would dare write those exact words nowadays. But I always thought that line was so funny. Yes, please, get us a wife!! Or, ok, fine, a partner? A helper? A person?! Anyone whose “sole ambition is laundry….”!!! 😅)
I also love this line. Hehe:
“I work all day in a breakneck run, just to come home to another pile of work to be done…And all I wanna do is flop on the couch and die.” 😂
Moving on!
Camera Roll Scroll
I miss blogging, and I miss blogging about random day to day stuff. Feels like it’s been forever!! So here’s a little “scroll through Kaelyn’s phone”:
🔷 As usual, Wisconsin can’t decide what season it is. We had snow on April 2nd:
A few days later, it was like, 75 degrees out.
🔷 HALLELUJAH, we finally got a shade installed in our kitchen!!
For context, we remodeled our kitchen in… 2018? 2019? One of those. I distinctly remember putting “get kitchen window shade installed” on my 20 for 2020 list.
I also put it on my 21 for 2021 list, and my 22 for 2022 list…and my 23 for 2023 list…. Well, how about this, 5th time was the charm! HA.
I finally took the 3 minutes in January 2024 to call our preferred blinds company and schedule a consult. Then it was just a matter of a 30 minute appt to look at samples, place order, wait 6 weeks for it to come in, and boom! The shade was installed last week. Really not that hard, and probably did not need to take 5 years.
I’m so happy about this though!! In part because the sun blinds me here when I’m at the sink in the mornings, and also because it shines on my refrigerator (not shown, behind me) and shows every bit of dust and fingerprints. lol. Pull the shade down- problem solved! Fridge looks clean. See how I did that? 😁
🔷 We watched a little BB. Very little, but at least one Iowa game.
We totally dropped the ball on any March Madness stuff (we’re not huge BB fans and I guess WI was out early this year, anyway). But we did catch at least one full Caitlin Clark game, from the bar at our Mexican place. So now I feel a little more caught up on the (well deserved) Caitlin Clark craze.
🔷 Ethan had his first soccer tournament of the spring season.
He played in Rockford, Illinois. Last weekend was super busy- Asher had a volleyball tournament locally, and Ethan had this soccer tourney in IL. We divided and conquered- Ivan went to IL on Saturday and I did VB, and Sunday we swapped.
Sunday was GORGEOUS!! Actually almost too hot in the upper 70s and full sun on that turf field.
🔷 Asher’s volleyball weekend:
He played two league games Friday night (until 9 p.m..), 2 tournament games on Saturday, and then I think 3 tournament games on Sunday? A lot of VB!!
Wow his team has improved a lot compared to last year. This is still a lower key school league- not club/ competitive level- but it’s really fun to watch! And the boys are definitely more into it and more competitive this year too. A great group of boys!
🔷 I’m (still?) making more of an effort to up my protein. (I feel like I’ve talked about this before but can’t remember how recently.)
Since we got back from vacation, I’ve really been trying to increase my protein intake. In part because I’ve been very committed to hitting my 4x/ week strength workouts (and protein helps support those workouts). Also because there’s like 6 weeks until our Hawaii trip, and more protein/ slightly fewer carbs tends to be a good recipe for me to just “tighten up” a little. I know, vain vain vain. Okay, sue me. 😜
I have kind of loosely tracked macros (some days, and not really strictly at all) in an effort to better eyeball how much protein I’m getting in.
As referenced above, life has been busy though, so cooking elaborate meals hasn’t really happened, either. Trying to think SIMPLE and EFFECTIVE.
Here are a few recent dinners:
Also on my camera roll…4 slices of colby cheese, which I sent to my dad. We are both big “cheese eaters”. Did you know this little dinky amount of cheese shown below is ONE OUNCE (i.e one serving/ 110 calories/9 grams fat/6 grams protein)? That’s it! Jeesh. This is why occasionally measuring/weighing food can be eye opening. I could easily down two times that amount with some crackers…
🔷 My dog is spoiled rotten.
Charlie is doing great. I’m absolutely in love.
But I swear, he’s one spoiled little guy. Given that I work from home, he has become my little shadow. I get up, he gets up. I go to the bathroom, he follows me. I am going to leave, he looks so sad and dejected that you’d think I was giving him up for adoption.
I also saw this dog on an Instagram reel, and thought- WOW! That dog is seriously talented. A dog who surfs?! It was legit- a video! Very impressive.
My dog is talented, too.
He can sleep like a human baby, with a blanket:
He can wait patiently for his dinner.
He (usually) lets me put his harness on without too much fuss anymore.
He can sleep almost anywhere…. (On my lap at my desk… lol. This didn’t last long as clearly this was not a conducive position for ME to work in…)
This morning I was chilly so I flipped the basement fireplace on while I heated some tea. He had been napping under my desk, but of course had to follow me when I got up….still sleepy, he snuggled back up on my lap and was literally snoring here. HAHA.
When the microwave beeped, I got up and he stayed by the fire like, Umm…what are we doing? Isn’t it nap by the fire time? I wish, buddy.
🔷 I FINALLY think I have landed on a good, realistic gym schedule!!
Monday (6 a.m.)- Upper Body #1
Tuesday (6 a.m.)- Lower Body #2
Wednesday- No morning workout; do cardio video at home after work
Thursday (6 a.m.)- Upper Body #2
Friday- No morning workout/ Off or Cardio if time
Saturday/Sunday- Lower Body #2 + cardio at least once, either day, whenever it fits.
This feels like a perfect balance. Also, Ethan has been joining me!! He wants to lift more but isn’t real keen on going to the gym to lift alone. He has just been doing my program with me and seems to like it a lot.
He leaves for school by 7, so we have to hustle, but that’s actually a good thing. Sometimes I dillydally too much otherwise. Usually we lift from 6-6:50 or so, run home (we live 1 minute from the gym), he grabs a protein shake and/or PBJ etc for the road and he’s out the door!
Fortunately we don’t do cardio in the a.m. so not really too sweaty or anything.
I really want to continue this schedule. I love that it still allows 2 weekday mornings off. I can either sleep in a little if needed (which is what happened this week, due to terrible sleep Tuesday night), or ideally, I can have a couple early mornings to myself.
And how can I complain about getting a bunch of 1:1 time with my almost 16 year old?! Having this standing “date” with him helps keep me on track, too. Can’t bail on the gym if he already got up too and is waiting for me. I sort of miss my quiet podcast listening time, but will gladly take chatting with my son over that, any day. 🙂
Ivan and I are also doing a 3 minute Plank Challenge every day from now until we go to Hawaii. 1 min plank x3 rounds, every night before bed. (I realize this won’t magically give us abs, but I do feel like planks are a nice, effective core exercise. I typically do almost zero dedicated core work, so this is a good way to incorporate.)
I guess that’s about it from my camera roll, unless you count some shoes I was looking at, more pics of Charlie, and a bunch of screenshots I saved from the Hawaii Tips Facebook group.
Oh, and 3 good quotes I screenshotted:
Okay, I lied- one more! I sent this one to my coworker. It cracked me up:
What’s on your camera roll?? What’s up in your life??
Daily Gratitude:
I am grateful for our bedroom clothes hamper. Such a simple tool, yet effective and so important. 😉
GRATEFUL KAE 
I have been taking tuna with me to work with my lunch for added protein. Half a can is is about 17-18 grams of tuna. That still leaves a lot of room for me to get to the recommended 55 grams, but it helps a lot! I’ve been working on it and I think I regularly get 41 grams a day with all my meals (with the tuna), so I still need to be a bit more strategic about having more fruits and vegetables with protein to get to that number. It’s so hard!!
I think Hannah and Charlie have a lot of commonalities in their lives. So hard to be a dog!!
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Tuna is a great protein source! Aiming for 20-30 gm per meal is an excellent place to start. My biggest issue is that sometimes I just don’t “feel” like a high protein meal. Like, I’ll think… ok, I really just want a piece of toast with Nutella on for breakfast. LOL. Which is like teeny amount of protein… MAYBE 6 grams total if I ate 2 pieces of toast (depends on the kind of bread, too…). Anyway, I have been doing a much better job of stocking up on high protein staples, and that alone helps me a lot. I can’t eat it if I don’t have it! Baby steps. 🙂
And yes, what difficult lives our dogs have!! HAHA.
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I love the idea of a vacation from life and a wife to take care of things. hahahah…. I am looking forward to work trips in coming weeks to be away from the family and have more time to sort out no daily life related things.
great to have the workout schedule sorted it out! 3 min plank challenge? is that continuous 3 min? that’s not easy! great that Ivan is on board. I’ve been joking with my husband for years that I want that 6 packs.. hahahah… he doesn’t have it yet but he has completely transformed from eat-anything-in sight and no workout, to gym rat who doesn’t eat dinner in normal schedule, so he has lost over 15 lbs and such fitter and healthier when we first got together. it was a long process though.
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No, we do 1 min, rest, 1 min, rest, 1 min for 3 minutes total! I don’t think I could do 3 minutes continuous!! haha! 1 min feels hard enough. That’s amazing about your husband. Very inspiring! I wonder what made him so motivated to make such a big change.
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Well, if it helps I feel overwhelmed by all of my stuff right now. Yes someone else looking at my schedule would be able to figure it out and not break a sweat, but I’m just like I cannot even. And oh yes, if someone is handing wives out, I will take one! All of which to say that you are doing fine.
Doggo has grown up a lot in the past few weeks and it is so nice! She used to play wildly from dinner time to bed time and now she alternates playing with napping.
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I think part of it is that we have to be in the right “mood” to deal with certain things. And also, some things just take more time/mental energy or can’t be quickly squeezed into a small window of time. Which is probably why I somehow rack up 30 min on social media a day, but don’t seem to have 30 minutes to write a blog post, or deal with a house project, etc. I can glance at my phone in 5-10 second intervals!
And yay for Doggo settling in! See, I told you it was coming… 😉
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“When the non-busy time slots do roll around, I’m just tired.””
THIS IS HOW I FEEL. It’s not that I don’t have any free time, it’s that I am tired and just want to sleep. LOL
I love the pictures from your walks with Charlie… it’s nice to be out and about 🙂
P.S. Is this a TV on your kitchen counter???
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Yep! I LOVE my kitchen TV! I adore watching the local evening news + Wheel of Fortune while I prep dinner in the evenings!!
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Wheel of fortune!! OMG, I love that!
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Yay! I’ve missed you (and Charlie, heh heh.) You’re going to hate me, but I feel like life has been kind of slow around here lately. I keep looking at the calendar suspiciously, like “Are you SURE there’s nothing this week???” While I wish my kids were athletic, not doing sports definitely leaves more free time! Things will get a little crazy in May with all the end of the year concerts and activities though.
I like your gym schedule. Having Ethan join you definitely must keep things on track. And I like how he’s doing your program- whenever I go to the gym with my son, he tries to lead me through some weird and complicated program he has, and it takes FOREVER! He likes to stay at the gym for a long time, but I’m more like you- 50 minutes is good for me.
Hopefully your extremely busy season will calm down soon (?) I’m not sure when your boys are done with school, but we end at the end of May. Summer should be easier… right???
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Haha, I could never hate you! I’m glad that after your whole ankle fiasco that you are not having a super busy stressful time right now. I think you deserve a little “downtime”, though you still are plenty busy with all you already have going on. And yes, 50-60 min workouts are my sweet spot. E is less ambitious in the gym (A is more likely to look things up or want to do his own workout; E is happy to just follow along whatever I tell him/ a pre-set program). That’s funny about your son wanting you to do complicated workouts! Haha. I feel like you’re all about the tried and true basics with your strength workouts.
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Woah, you have a lot going on! I listen to a podcast about finances and they call this part of life the “messy middle” where you are n the thick of things and are constantly on the move, shuffling kids around, working your way up the ladder at work, etc. Plus you got a dog right in the middle of it! Go you! The only way out is through, right?
I love the pics of your walks; the weather has been like that in CA and OR too! 76 one day and snowing the next. Weird! Also, Charlie’s hair is SO CURLY. My friend K’s cavapoo Jelly has curly hair, but not as curly as Charlie’s!
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Love that idea of the messy middle- perfect way to describe it! All the things happening at once for sure. The dog definitely added a complex layer this year! So so much better now that he’s getting older, but, walking him, etc still takes up new chunks of time compared to my previous life. And yes, he’s SUPER curly!! That’s part of the issue with needing to get him groomed so frequently. The groomer said he basically has the most high maintenance coat a dog could have. Ha. Of course! He is a Cavapoo so the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel mixed with Toy Poodle, however- according to his records from the breeder, his dad is a Toy Poodle and his mom is Cavapoo. So, the way I understand that is that percentage-wise, he’s way more Poodle than Cavalier. Which may explain his curls!
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Haha, the volleyball isn’t low-key, some of the boys are getting hot-headed and last week in April there’s SEVEN games. Basically what happens when you smush 16 games into a short five week season.
All those workouts sound great! Plank challenge sounds totally doable.
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Lol, you’re 100% right… I should have been more clear. I really just meant “low key” more in that skill-wise, they aren’t at that super high level like a club travel team would be, and that we aren’t spending a fortune on it or traveling all over the state or something for the games. But you’re right that it’s otherwise not low key this year; I definitely notice the hot-headedness coming out more this year for sure, and it certainly is a fast and furious season! I’m really glad Asher decided to do it again this year. I think he’s really enjoying it, and with them all graduating next month, it makes me happy that he’s having this last season with all these guys!!
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Oh I feel you on this. Things have been so busy lately with my work travel and just generally being busy at work. I barely cleaned out my emails from the previous week on Monday before hopping on a plane. And then so much accumulated during the day when I was doing meetings but I didn’t get back to my hotel room until 9 on Tues and Wed night since we had evening events and GAH. I am tired. And now I am home for another night and then we go to ND tomorrow for my grandma’s funeral. But I’ll barely be there for 24 hours as I want to get back in time for Paul to go his swimming lesson at 1:45 pm on Sunday. I would like to live Charlie’s life for just one day. Give me alllll the naps. And then maybe I’d feel like a person again. Right now I am really limping along and trying to just hold it together.
My eating has been rough. I try to eat protein when I am traveling but I basically can only control my breakfast and the hotel I was at had no GF options unless I wanted an omelette and I wasn’t feeling that as it can be kind of a heavy breakfast. My lunches and dinners were part of client events so I was just along for the ride. We are making some tuna steaks tonight so at least I will get one good, solid meal in before traveling to ND tomorrow. We’ll get there around 11:30 I think and I have to be at the visitation at 12. I’ll have Paul with me so when I was laying awake last night, I was wracking my brain over where we could eat lunch that would have healthy’ish GF options for me and something he will eat. I think we’ll need to make 2 stops so he can get like chicken nuggets at McD’s and I can get a salad at Subway or something (the funeral is in a small town with limited restaurants).
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Thank you for this post, Kae! It’s crazy that the weather is like that where you live! NJ may have some cool temperatures but no snow! That’s wild.
overwhelm is a familiar feeling for me. It ebbs and flows. When T is traveling a lot for work- then yes I am there, when he home more- I feel better. I just listened to an episode from Laura Tremaine’s 10 Things to Tell you- episode 162, on overwhelm and it was great.
It’s wonderful that you work out with Ethan, is that your thing? I love that.
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