Weekly Ramble 4/27/24

Aloha! How are you?! We are back! Rested and refreshed after our first week away from the kids ever.

I suppose there are plenty of couples who travel sans enfants, but that’s never been our vibe. We love traveling with our kids. And honestly, money for travel is hard earned, so we like to spend it together with the fam.

You’ll remember France? And then England? We took them to Maui, too.

Going back to Two

Now, as the empty nest era is really not too far off, though, we’re getting more accustomed to doing things just the two of us, like weekly date nights and taking a vacation day every month.

Taking a week’s vacation was a good next step. We had 2020 travel credits that were expiring back in December so we spontaneously chose Hawaii. If it hadn’t been for Covid, we might not have gone. haha!

Aside: I’m so incredibly thankful for our marriage. My parents’ was a train wreck right out of the station, so I consider it a true gift from God that we like each other, love each other, and continue to be compatible.

In fact, with just each other for company for a whole week, I’m pleasantly surprised at how well we do get on. Not bragging! Just pleasantly surprised.

But I shouldn’t be, travel has always been something we’ve done well together. (Home remodels and decorating is a different story! lol)

When we were still dating, I moved to France for a year, and Bryan came to visit. I had time off from school over the holidays so we traveled in an itty bitty Renault for six weeks. Our budget was only $10/day for food. Yes! It was 1992. (There are more details here.)

Here we are at a Roman ruins in Nimes with our picnic: cheese, bread, and clementines.

Our trip to Kauai last week was a little more expensive, but the same kind of vibe, the two of us in a car, driving around, picking up picnic food at the grocery store to save money, seeing the sites and exploring together. We couldn’t keep it to $10/day, but we kept it close to $40, which these days feels like an accomplishment!

I’ll be writing a fuller post about the week as a whole, including expenses, so stay tuned for that. (And yes, I shared in stories on my Good Cheap Eats IG account, but they were a week delayed so that I was truly in the moment on vacation.)

Suffice it to say, we had a good time and maybe didn’t realize how good it was until we came back to reality. We have a very good life with our kids, but a 4:30 alarm and various fires to fight do make lazing on the beach much more attractive.

Back Home

Our first day back involved a pre-op appointment with my GP. I have a fatty lipoma on my shoulder that has continued to grow over the years. The orthopedist is cool with removing it.

However, my GP hadn’t been the one to handle my bloodwork a few months back; his PA had done. So, he had a few things to say about my high cholesterol and elevated apoB. Ahem.

This guy is constantly cracking jokes but this was the first time I saw him really serious. It was Dr. B’s version of a come-to-Jesus moment. He said you need to get serious about this.

That was actually why I requested the apoB test in January – how serious do I need to be? Now, I have my answer.

I won’t be getting shoulder surgery anytime soon as I am now in referral limbo, waiting for an appointment with my cardiologist so she can yell at me and threaten statins. It’s been a rough couple years since I’ve seen her, so pray for me! I’ve gained a fair amount of weight and handled a lot of stress. She might be gentle, but I’m prepared for her worst — which I’ve heard through the walls when she’s berated other patients.

All that to say, I AM TAKING IT SERIOUSLY.

Getting Serious

I already knew that the potato chips and shave ice in Hawaii were my last hurrah. I hit the ground running, well, walking, because we know I’m not in an exercise groove these days.

• I am back to walking 10k steps a day and eating more in line with 2BMindset. (Kauai gave me a good start, but it’s harder to work in at home.)
• I stocked up on extra veg, tofu, and other things that are good for me.
• I blocked off a shelf in the fridge that is labeled MOM’s.
• I’m tracking everything in the Carbon app.
• I start Andrea’s nutrition coaching program on Monday.
• I bought these cupcakes from Walmart so I would not be tempted to eat them like I would homemade. 🙂

I still need to figure out a workout regimen, but I feel like I’m gonna tackle the nutrition bit first, else I’ll burn out.

I’ve enjoyed all my meals so far, including but not limited to:

• roast sweet potato bowls topped with grilled chicken and yogurt dressing
• protein waffles with Greek yogurt and blueberries
• muesli and yogurt with berries
• my go-to salad (but with lots more veg and limited avocado and cheese)
• breakfast tacos with veg

Overall, I’m eating chicken/turkey/or fish just once a day with eggs, lowfat dairy, and whey protein for my prots the rest of the day, working for at least 100 grams if I can swing it.

Note: I am not a doctor or nutritionist and nothing I do should be prescriptive in any way.

Going Forward

In other news, the girls and I are going to meet my eldest and his wife at Disneyland in a few days. I’m so excited! We haven’t been in 6 years so we’re due. I purchased this guide book with digital credits I had on Amazon. It has never failed us in the past, but the more I read the more I shake my head at Disney’s upselling.

Apparently, I have a lot to learn about Lightning Lanes and Genie+ in the next few days! Ugh!

So, I guess that’s it for the week. My body is still on island time, despite my efforts to get back on a schedule. I’m super thankful that we had that break. Now it’s back to work!

How are you? What’s new with you? I hope you’ll leave a comment and share!