Woah! It sure has been a while since I’ve written! I miss writing but just haven’t had the time or energy to do it lately, but I really want to get back at it. Let’s start this they way I’ve been doing with all these posts, with a pandemic update. I know a whole lot of people aren’t feeling concerned anymore with it, but I still am. Yes, I’m one who still continues to mask in public. It’s my personal comfort level to continue doing it and it makes me feel comfortable leaving the house and being around people. By still doing so, it’s allowing me to live life, be social, work and even travel.
Speaking of travel, January started off fantastic with a long weekend away for a Florida heroclix trip. I won’t go into it here as I wrote a whole post on my travel experience mixed in with my tournament report. Missed it? You can catch it here.
The first few months of the year I went and saw a few movies. In December I noticed Cineplex had a deal that if you bought a $50 gift card, you’d get a ton of coupons to use from January-March and I couldn’t pass it up! There were coupons for a free movie, free popcorn, free drink, buy 1 get 1 ticket, free movie upgrade and a few other. So not only could I use a coupon for awesome discounts, I had the gift card to use with them so very little out of pocket at the actual time of going to the movies. I used all the coupons up as solo dates, a kiddo date and one with my cousin, who I hadn’t seen since pre-pandemic. It was so great seeing her and catching up in person!
There have been 2 Heroclix releases these last few months. First was BTU. I bought a case for this one and it was super crappy with 1 chase, no prime and no rings. I am feeling grateful that I had played some battle royals in Florida and did some trading to get some rings and constructs there. Made completing them easier after trading stuff at home release events and eventually buying the last 4 I needed. SMBA I decided not to buy a case just collect pieces from playing sealed events locally. There wasn’t a ton I wanted from the set so I was okay with not having it all. I picked up all the equipment from a local store and was happy with that. I would like 1 chase, but it’s way out of my price range for purchasing, so I’ll just borrow if needed for now.
There was an online charity tournament that Brad from Bradcast ran for the IPF. I of course participated and had a bunch of fun. I ended up coming in 4th in a great game against my JSA teammate Paul (it was streamed on Dial H) – but I did kick myself for a mistake I caught the turn after I did it. I won’t make that mistake again though! That’s how I learn and remember to do better – making mistakes. Lately I’ve just been getting practice in for ROC Cup at Devin’s place with whoever is able to join us. I’m glad that Mike is playing a lot of the pieces I’m expecting to see, so that should be great preparation. I’m still tweaking the final bits of the team and trying to decide my last 55 points between 2 variations, but at least I have 1 week still to get some more games in to practice and decide.
In a potential big life change, my household may be going from 3 people to 2 people within the next few months. Definitely a dynamic shift if it happens. I’m needing to make some decisions of my own on what I want to do. I’ve half thought of selling my house down the line and getting a 1 bedroom condo for myself. But that would mean my household needs to go down to just me for that to happen and I don’t know when that will happen. I won’t lie, I very much enjoy my quiet alone time and my space – so I would like this to eventually happen. But do I actually want to move? I don’t know. I love the idea of a condo. Not having to think about the outdoor maintenance stuff and a smaller space to take care of. But I don’t like the idea of condo fees. Like once I’ve got my place paid off, I want to be done with monthly payments (other than maintenance/repairs of course). It feels exciting to see how the change will affect how things are though.
Still doing therapy. Having a lot of thoughts around my headspace at home. A lot of time I feel kinda sucked in when I walk in the door. Overwhelmed, dragged down and just sucking the life from me. I’ve been taking some of it into own hands with trying to get something done as I walk in the door, before I sit down and my energy gets drained. Most days I’m getting a little something done. Even if it’s just one small thing. I’m really trying to clean, tidy and declutter. I’ve made it a point to not let the garbage bin go to the curb without adding an extra bag of “stuff” that’s not donateable, sellable or giveawayable. Having room still in the bin is a big motivator to go collect more things to get rid of. I want my space to be a better place that brings me joy to go to. Hopefully once I get it that way, it’ll help the other decision of selling or not. I have been noticing a big change in my mood from when I first started therapy to now. I’ve definitely grown as a human, I find my really strong debilitating anxiety isn’t as often or as bad, I’m more confidant than I was and slowly starting to speak up for myself more often. I know I still have a long way to grow, but I’m willing to keep putting in the time and work to be my best self.
Health wise, the meds are doing what the meds are supposed to be doing and keeping the blood pressure in a normal range. I am only needing to see the doctor every 3 months now instead of monthly, so that feels good. A few of my nutrients were low on the last blood check, so I’m taking supplements for the specific ones I need and hopefully they’ll be back on track the next time I see her too. I’m back on track of getting walking in regularly again. Much easier to do now that the weather is getting nicer again. I’m doing great with my food choices. Packing lots of produce, good protein and whole grains for work. I also decided to try out that app Noom. Seeing how my therapy has been so helpful, I noticed that this app also uses the same CBT techniques. So I signed up for a year and we’ll see how it goes. I started about 6 weeks ago now and I’m down about 10-12lbs. I do well with trackers and motivation and I enjoy the little daily reading that breaks it up into bite sized pieces of learning. I did need to invest in a new fitbit though. Mine previous one was dying every 2 days and I was getting close to a week with it when I first got it. I’m glad I had enough rewards dollars on my credit card to cover a new one! That was how I got my last one too.
Work has been having it’s stressful moments. Don’t get me wrong, I love what I do and I’m good at what I do. But I sometimes get that thought in my head of the what ifs. You just never know in life what will happen. The imposter syndrome sets in and makes me think I’m not good enough sometimes. So I’ve thought that maybe I’ll look at certificate course to have some kind of schooling to back up what I actually do so I’ve got some more self security into the unknown. Certainly can’t hurt. I’m going to see what I can find that I can do online in my spare time and take it slow doing a course or two at a time from home.
I know I haven’t said this word in a long time, but Jamberry has officially gone under. Youngevity has decided to stop carrying the line. I still have a bunch of stock from back then – maybe now is a good time to start listing it on eBay or somewhere to get rid of it for those who want it now that it’s gone. Good thing I made the change over to Color Street when I did. I’m still chugging along but with less enthusiasm and energy – even though I do still very much love the product and always use it. And I say I have less enthusiasm but I’ve got 2 vendor events coming up. I’ll be at the Redwood Theater on Saturday April 29th and I’ll be at Holy Name Church on May 14th. I didn’t go looking for the events, they reached out to offer me spots again. I love that they think of me and give me first dibs as a vendor. Their events are always great. They advertise well, they’re always well attended, reasonably costed and they’re super sweet to work with.
That’s the quick rundown of my past few months. I’m sure I’ll be doing a write up of my ROC Cup adventure in a few weeks, so it won’t be as long before you hear from me again. I hope you’re all doing well, are happy and healthy.
Until next time, xoxo