(I have nothing spooky or freaky to share in this post, besides deciding to title it “Freaky Friday” because it’s Friday the 13th. 😆)
1- IT’S BEEN A WEEK.
Outside of work, it’s actually been a nice week in many ways.
🟡 I went to both of Asher’s VB games this week (Monday and Wednesday) and they were both really close games and fun to watch. I have to say, Asher is impressing me with his hustle out there. VB has never been his “main sport”, but he’s all in on it right now and seems to be really blossoming! I am quite impressed with the all around improvement on the team in this past month. (It’s a new sport in our school district (2nd year) so variable skill level.) Most of all, he’s just really, really enjoying it and that is amazing.
🟡 After a rather off week last week, I’ve tried to dial in again on workouts.
- Hit the gym Monday at lunch for Upper Body #1
- Tuesday did Cardio right after work
- Wednesday I knew was a busy day + evening so successfully made myself go to the gym at 0630 (future me was very happy with this decision)
- Thursday I had zero time during the day and almost bailed on my plans for evening Cardio, but I said, NOPE, I’m doing this… and I did, at almost 8 pm.
🟡 My parents came Wednesday –> Thursday (in part to see Asher’s VB game, but also so my dad could oversee the contractors coming on Thursday to install our new sliding shower door. Yes, the never-ending bathroom remodel is still ongoing. LOL. In fairness, there was a huuuuuge hiatus the entire summer. It’s basically almost done now, though!! Will share pics eventually- waiting on a light fixture + mirror….). We also got dinner post- VB game w/ my parents, and it was my mom’s 74th birthday yesterday!! 🎉🎉
⬛ But inside of work, it’s just been a big STRESS BALL, and I guess that’s about all I’ll really say about that. My coworker summed it up well when in a meeting yesterday when someone said, “Almost Friday!” and she responded, “I’ve needed it to be Friday since about Tuesday.” Yeppppppp.
*Like my color coded symbols there? Hehe. Yellow= good! Black= bad…
2- I miss soda.
UGHHHH you guys! I really do!!! 😥😥
Have to be fully transparent here. Never fear, yes, I’m still completely off soda. (Since July 1st, so… 74 days now?)
Not sure if it’s just general stress lately or what, but I just… really miss it! Actually, that’s not exactly exactly true- at least not all the time. Most of the day it’s totally fine and I don’t even think about it. I drink my hot tea, my sparkling water or my flavored ice water and I’m happy. Well, I’m content. I am not having daily desires to drink soda, and it’s not like I get terrible cravings or anything.
But I just miss having a “treat” that I really, really like. Something to look forward to. Like, today is Friday. It’s been a Week. I would LOVE nothing more than to go hit up a drive thru later for a big soda on ice to sip while I work- heck, I think I’d be happy with a Diet Dr. Pepper! I don’t even need the full sugar stuff. I just want something that is like, ahhh, that hits the spot, when I take a sip. Yes, I could go get an unsweetened iced tea or something. But it is just not the same!! If you know, you know. Sigh.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m really happy overall that I’ve quit soda! I know that drinking it on the daily, or to the level I was, was NOT good and I do not want that in my life anymore. I am proud of myself.
But I guess I’m also feeling like…. ok, this isn’t literally crack cocaine…. do I NEED to abstain 100%?? Couldn’t I just have it like, once a week? Or something?? I mean, if I have the self-control to stay off completely, can’t I have the self-control to just have it occasionally? Am I grasping at straws here? Am I looking for a loophole? Seeking permission from the interwebs? 😆 Very possibly. LOL. Then again, you know, there’s the whole slippery slope thing… so, I suppose it’s best to just keep on carrying on….. womp womp. 😩
3- Fashion Friday #3
Week 3 of snapping daily outfit pics!
This week did not feel like the most inspired, lol. I felt stressed/ mildly cranky much of the time, mostly just wanted to feel comfy, and in an effort to speed up my “get ready” time, I felt rushed most days.
Therefore, I found myself being like, “Eh, I’ll just wear leggings” on several occasions, OR, during our heat wave the last few days, grabbing my purple shorts on repeat. Outfit-selecting effort = low this week.
*Almost any casual top/cute tee works for most of my meetings- just not like, exercise gear or graphic tees, etc. If I have a more important meeting, I’ll put a cardigan on or throw on a blouse.
4- Internet Find #1
This made me laugh and I sent it to Elisabeth. Haha. I mean, yes. If I could just get a detailed copy of the Guidebook of Life, I think I’d have this all figured out. I get tired of thinking. LOL.
5- Internet Find #2
I saw this floating around on some “I love fall” Facebook page, but oh my goodness. How I would love to dive into that exact scene. Talk about COZY!!!
*No idea where this photo is from to give credit, but it’s not mine! It looks AMAZING, though. (Except it kind of looks like it’s raining on the table- which I would like to pass on. But I’d happily sit right there with a gentle drizzle falling outside the window… with the candles…. yes please.)
Also, like Daria mentioned today, I also feel so behind on reading/commenting on people’s posts!!! I’m sorry. I will try to catch up with all of you this weekend! 💗
Daily Gratitude:
I am grateful for a stretch of some beautiful weather. Elisabeth mentioned this in her post today, too- we’ve had the same cooler/crisp mornings (low 60s), but warm/sunny afternoons.
GRATEFUL KAE 
I was just thinking about you and the soda thing. I wish I had amazing words of wisdom, but it’s just so hard- especially since I don’t think you feel an amazing improvement in your health since you quit (although- the amazing improvement IS there- it would just be nice if you felt it more dramatically.) I don’t want to lead you down a dark path, but I do love a Coke Zero every once in a while. It’s not nearly as delicious as real Coke, so it’s not as addictive for me. But it does fill that craving for a fountain drink with lots of ice. On the other hand- it’s NOT good for you. Why can’t there be something fun and delicious that feels like a treat that’s not bad for you? WHY??? Well- just keep thinking how much your future self will thank you, when you have nice strong bones instead of bones that are crumbling to dust.
Yes, I want to dive right into that fall scene. But why is it raining on the table??? I didn’t even notice that till you pointed it out- weird. Other than that it looks very cozy.
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I feel like this is probably totally just a mental thing, but it just annoys me to not have SOMETHING that feels like an actual “treat” to me! I also feel like the biggest thing I want to avoid is all the sugar/calories/etc from regular soda. Not that I want to drink a ton of diet soda, either, but that isn’t really where my problem lies. Since giving up soda, I do feel quite good overall- I think when I first said I didn’t have any noticeable changes, it was very soon after I had quit. Now that it’s been a couple months, I feel like quitting soda + the increased walking has just made me feel more fit overall and a little easier to maintain a more optimal body composition. So I really don’t want to revert to all the regular soda! But, I do feel like I might allow myself some Diet soda/ sugar free options from time to time. I think I feel like 1-2x/ week is a fair compromise and I feel pretty certain that in small doses, it’s not going to negatively impact my health! I actually feel like I could have regular soda in that dose without any true negative impacts, but I know how addictive it is for me, and therefore at this point I still want to maintain a HARD quit on regular soda. This feels like a good compromise?!
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I’m definitely not good at abstaining from things. I think I have a slight rebel tendency that flares up. Sigh.
I’ve seen a sneak peak and think your bathroom looks AMAZING!
Love comfy clothes.
This week was…kinda rough here, too. I’m feeling emotionally drained from some school and personal conflicts and usually I’d be relieved it’s Friday but we have a big back to school party at our house tonight, a birthday party to attend tomorrow (that we learned about yesterday, so need to get a gift tomorrow), company coming for supper, church on Sunday, and then my husband leaves for an overseas trip on Monday which is the day all the new extracurriculars start.
Oh, and my sleep has been like crap for various reasons this week.
I guess I got all my happy, positive things out in my blog post today?
There really has been sooo much to be grateful for this week (thankfully work has been smooth and no one is sick at home), but on the other hand some things feel hard because they legitimately ARE hard!
Gold stars for fitting in those workouts at odd (early/late) hours. Congrats to your mom. 74 and still so active is a gift and also, I suspect, a reward for being mindful about her health. Yay! Does she have any lingering issues from her fall?
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The FIRST thing I noticed about that table scene was the water droplets and I was like…what am I missing here? Is this table inside? Outside? Is that actually epoxy drops (but then the table would be rough). I really want to get to the bottom of this mystery 🙂
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Oh, and someone else commented they believe this photo is AI generated! Which would make sense to have it be a little…. off. haha.
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No, fortunately her shoulder healed up well! I haven’t heard her mention anything about it recently at all, thank goodness!
You did have a busy weekend! (in the rearview mirror now…) I haven’t had a chance to check blogs today to see if you updated how everything went. Hope you can get a little calm and rest this week after that flurry of activity!
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you have had a crazy week. It’s the stage of your life- I remember those days of kids in sports & a busy job. It feels like you can’t catch your breath. Good job on keeping up the workouts though!
I recently had to give up coffee, which I think I loved as much as you love your soda. My naturopath advised it, along with a few other things, as I have bone loss. It was hard and I was sad but knew it was important – at least I got to replace it with one mug of Swiss process decaf a day. I mentioned Cove soda before- it’s supposed to be actually healthy and really delicious. I’m not much of a soda person but I may try it.
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I remember you mentioning this! I have NOT sought it out yet but am making a note now to do so.
I am sorry you’ve had to give up coffee. Being mindful of bone health is a really good reason to cut out soda/coffee! I feel like occasional doses would probably not impact it in a meaningful way though- is it something you could just have as a special treat now and then? Or are you more like me where you want it all.the.time? 😆 At least hopefully the decaf sort of scratches the habit itch?
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You’re allowed to have soda if you want to…but just sayin’ it would be really cool to push the streak to 100 days. It’s just a fun numbers game and maybe having the subgoal of going for 100 days would allow the craving to pass.
Good luck with the work stuff! I feel you!
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I think there is something with the “you can’t have this ever again” mindset that does annoy me. That said, I feel really strongly, at least at this point, that I don’t want to go down the route of reintroducing regular soda at all. I just know it’s so hard for me to control. I know diet soda is kind of “gross” w/ the chemicals yada yada, but I feel like occasional diet sodas might be the answer for me to still get that occasional fix, without striking my personal achilles heel, either.
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Hi, first time blog commenter but wanted to chime in that I have quite the Mountain Dew addiction (I know, so weird). I don’t allow myself to keep it in the house. I figure if I want it bad enough that I need to leave the house for it then I’ll allow it. It’s really helped me to moderate, went from having 1 a day to now maybe 1-2 a month.
Also I love your Wednesday outfit pants – where are they from??
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Oh, I feel like lots of people I know used to be addicted to Mountain Dew! That was never my “drug of choice” lol, but I think there’s definitely something to that one for a lot of people. I used to try that option with my soda issues too, but last year I found I just kept going and getting one at a drive thru or gas station! So not only was I still drinking it, I was now spending way more money on it, too! Ha.
Those pants were a random Maurice’s find! ha! A nice casual everyday pant. They’re called The Weekender.
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I so wish I was a moderator but I’m just not so I do best when I abstain. But you could experiment with having the occasional Coke Zero or diet Dr Pepper or something like that? I drink a Coke Zero occasionally and it really hits the spot!
I love your outfits! I took pics of the dresses I wore during my work trip this week but then was too exhausted on my flight home to write a post! Maybe I will use them for a future post. I am also behind on commenting, too. I had such an intense week of work with 30+ meetings and some client events and I am just WORN. OUT.
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I think I’m going to do just what you said. I don’t trust myself with the regular soda, since that’s my big vice and I feel like has the worst negative impacts (all the SUGAR, calories, etc) that I want to avoid. I know Diet soda isn’t “great”, but I personally am not too worried about ingesting some chemicals in small doses. lol. I feel like having an option to get a diet dr pepper now and then or something would keep me on track/ adherent to my main goal of not drinking all the sugar etc, but would still let me have something that feels like an actual treat.
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Sorry work has been so stressful! Pretty sure the photo is AI generated, which would explain the raindrops inside and the oddly placed lights outside.
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Aha!! Excellent observation! I didn’t even think of AI- but I bet you’re right!!
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I wonder if a strict “one soda a week” rule could work? I know for me, “every once in a while” would probably be too vague but I do wonder if there could be some kind of middle ground! It sounds like you really do enjoy soda and miss it, and it would be awesome to find a way to enjoy it here and there- gotta live a little sometimes!
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I agree- that level of vagueness isn’t good for me, either. I think I want to remain totally off regular soda, for now anyway. But I am mulling over allowing myself a diet soda in some sort of specific intervals to get that “treat” fix, while not going off the rails like I have in the past. Deciding! I do agree that life is short and considering I don’t really have many other “vices” (I don’t really care for alcohol much, don’t smoke/ not a big sweets fan/ etc.), I do feel like this isn’t the worse thing I could do, either!
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Cardio at 8pm because you are a woman of your word!!
I allow myself a Caffeine Free Diet Coke at my FIL’s house whenever we visit. Otherwise I don’t drink it, but I do miss it. *sigh* Good luck on figuring out the solution for what works for you.
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Haha, yes, you remembered my old mantra!! lol!! I have said that to myself a couple times lately!
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Totally fine that you still miss it as you had it for soooo long. It’s part of the process and associating comfort with it as treat.
I love that text about telling me what to do. I think I felt disoriented for sooo long, not knowing the future, what decisions to take, etc. I guess that’s part of adulting process too.
sorry to hear that work has been too much…. it ebbs and flows for all of us. I’m taking a long weekend off but know a lot will be waiting for me on my return. will worry about it when I get there.
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Yes, work has been hard lately. I feel like it might be on a bit of a down swing soon, hopefully. So hopefully once we get past a certain point, some of the stress will die down.
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Hi Kae, thanks for the shoutout, the week really has been rough. And it continued on the weekend – will reflect on saying goodbye to our kitty on my blog soon. For now I need some space/time to process.
I saw that photo on facebook, too- so cozy but the droplets are so strange…
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Saw your post about your kitty. I’m so sorry!!! 😥😥
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I don’t know – could you have a soda as a treat once a week or something? Maybe like your special Friday night treat – just have one and really enjoy that one?
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I am mulling this over! I feel like I don’t trust myself with the regular soda thing, but I might incorporate some diet soda (in specific time/place). I know diet soda gets a bad rap and all, but I feel like in small doses, basically anything is ok… (well, not maybe anything, but you know what i mean. lol!)
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first time commenter—just chiming in to ask if you have tried the Zevia sodas? Made with stevia and surprisingly good! I let my kids drink them as much as they want. They have a cola, dupe Dr. Pepper, etc. you can buy them in Safeway here in Montana.
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I think I tried a Zevia soda a long time and I feel like it tasted “off” to me… but I could definitely try again/ different flavors. Could be a good option if I want a gas station fix or something like that (if they sell them there). Getting a Bubblr (sparkling flavored water) has been something I’ll stop and get now and then which has been nice. It’s still not “soda” though, and I know it. HAHA.
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Well, generally I want to say you can totally have the occasional soda treat… it shouldn’t be a big deal, but knowing that it’s a slippery slope for you and that you have previously had phases where you had a lot of soda, I don’t know if I would recommend it. Are you an abstainer or moderator generally? Do you think you could moderate the consumption?
Some people do better when the temptation is just not there.
So excited to hear your bathroom makeover is almost done. Looking forward to see it finished! 😉
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