Welcome to February

This is no longer a run blog? No more training? I don't know. But let's keep it self-improvement and tracking at least. 

Last week (30th Jan to 5th Feb) (I'm writing this on Monday the 6th) was long. LA came back Monday afternoon and we stayed kinda later at lab so he could work on transplants. Tuesday I had an unexpected ELISA to run, squeezed it in. Thanks to my "success" with that ELISA, on Wednesday 36 more ELISA plates had to be run, we were at work from 9am to 11pm. We ate dinner at lab 1130 then went home. Let's just say, I wasn't all that motivated to be at lab meeting at 9am the next morning. Thursday was long too. Friday was full, then on the way home LA went to the airport to be in MO for the weekend. 

So on my own for the weekend, not a great thing for me. I'm bored, anxious, overwhelmed with everything I want to do and not sure where to start. I have a list, I start plucking through it. 

I sold a cactus Saturday! And on Friday the guy from the store in Tecumseh who contacted me on FB about renting space there reached out to me again, and I had to decline. The rental fees are $40-$80. They don't keep commissions and no fees, but I'd have to sell 1-2 pieces a month just to break even, as the costs also include the time to drive there, the costs transporting, the stress of making "enough". And that last one was probably the most costly. Like I've said, and LA reminds me, it's not as much fun when it's not a hobby anymore.

I listed the pink succulent on FB as an Alternate Color to the green, and already have someone asking about it. I listed another cactus, this one with a yellow flower. This is going good! I'm listing only what I have available (until I added the "ask me about other colors" to the succulents!) and I'm under no huge pressure to make more. 

But I am looking for a webpage of some sort, a way to list what I have on hand in one spot. Kinda like my own Etsy page, without the Etsy. I found an eCommerce thing on FB to look at next. In the meantime, I'm going to make a SHORT list of the cacti/succulents/flowers I have would want to have on-hand on-the-ready to include there. 

Another week of no running, no gym, ...

Nothing yet! It's Thursday, so most days lost but still days ahead. It snowed yesterday, all day yesterday, and that was the excuse for not running or gyming. I didn't even get 10K steps!

This past weekend we traveled to the Ozarks with the kids, leaving from work on Friday and returning Monday morning back to work. So that kinds leaves on Tuesday as my day to get something done.

I've been waking up and following my coffee/chore/tidy routine, but then sticking around to do art. I started making line art flowers for the kids, which turned into Valentine's Day idea, which turned into web searches about how to make, sell, price, etc, handmade cards. Most all that I found were make something, digitize it, print it, sell it. Not really the road I want to go down.

But I do like the line art, I'll have to share some of them. 

I'm home this weekend alone, last time this happened I went on a declutter spree. I'm planning some of that now, but also looking forward to finishing the pink succulent project from gramma and the blue orchids project for my sister. 

ETA - final notes on Monday. I did run a bit this weekend! I did a walk/run 2 miles a few times to get my steps. It wasn't much, given the snow and the plywood-covered holes all along Maple, but it felt good. The snow was a deterrent from going to the gym. A poor excuse. 

I did finish the pink succulent for gramma. Started and 98% done on one orchid flower for Michelle. Sold the step basket, two sets of silverware, a bunch of 12x12 scrapbook supplies left over from genealogy almost 20 years ago!, and a felt wall organizer thing. $25+5+5+3!

Sold my first commission piece!

I didn't get to the gym this week, and I did a 2 mile run/walk a few days ago. We're tired. Sleeping in seems more important, but I'm not sleeping it. He is. I mean it seems more important for him.

I've been getting up to work on projects, like above. This one has been done a few days, but I did push to finish the butterflies and do the corrections on the kids projects. I also cut the last 3 pieces of glass last night and took the 2nd light green succulent to completion.

So now I have 10 butterflies and 3 sold last night. The new succulent, and the other cacti that haven't sold yet. Since we are traveling this weekend (again!) I won't work on it until the drive back on Sunday. Nextdoor, and add in Facebook Marketplace?

I definitely had Seller's Anxiety about the above piece. But reading that others had it too helped - it's normal! I'm not sure I want to keep doing commission stuff like that. I like to make it and make my own decisions, not try to guess what someone else might like. But it's nice having a direction to create for someone who is interested, it's more promising. 

My bench is cleared and clean! Next up is the blue orchids for Steven and Michelle's overdue xmas present. 

A week of no gym, almost no running, almost nothing...

 I did run two days, 2-3 miles each day, it felt good but not great.

I did run/walk 2 miles this morning and all felt OK. I'm having room-spinny spells this past week. I've had a think where I can't lie down completely without getting spinny, but now mostly reclining does it. And I've fallen over twice now getting out of bed in the dark. Ear crystal things? It's not lightheaded or weak, it's just spinning feeling. My motion sickness and inability to do roller coasters and water slides all seem a part of this too? 

I didn't get to the gym at all, our schedule is off a bit with LA going to work with me. It's apparently enough of a change that I can't hold to schedule? Da Fuq excuse is that? I was low energy all week anyway. 

We traveled to IL to get kids Friday, came back, stayed here Sat and Sun, drove back to IL on Monday. It's now Tuesday, and I'm so behind on steps and health and shit. But -- I'm selling my first real commissioned stained glass piece this week!! Pictures later. 

Tiger blood!!

First week of January

 I RAN twice? about 4-5 miles.

A very low energy week. We came back from NY weekend Monday, LA left again Weds for MO, I started the TMJD NSAID and muscle relaxant Tuesday. The rest of the week (it's now next Tuesday) I was low energy. Low motivation. No strength workouts. Running was a struggle or a no-go.

I did stay home Saturday and Sunday, and started another Kon Mari declutter. 276 items including lots of clothes, most of my shoes, some kitchenware, a real killing of paperwork from the office (which was hard to count by the way), old cheap artwork markers (I counted as 1, not per marker). That leaves me feeling GREAT, but it doesn't address the real problem of the basement and the garage. Most of the garage is not mine, so I'm going to have to just turn a blind eye. I have only a few gear drawers in the bedroom and the pile of towels  - then the inner house is done. 

I finished my stained glass/rectangular pot commission! But I need to make a butterfly to go with it. I made 7 of them with my "new" pattern, didn't like the pattern, stubbornly made them anyway (the glass was cut a few weeks ago), got them done and didn't like them. I decided to salvage what I could and move on and when I started that I realized the copper tape I'd used didn't adhere to the glass and the butterflies pretty much melted apart. Ugh, but I'm happier to find that NOW and not after they've been sold. 

I finished the watercolor tiger, he's not as smug as the model in the book but he looks great. Michaels store gave me a $5 voucher and with it I purchased the 0000 brush for 4.99 that I needed for the tiger. 

Last night after phone call I pulled out new tape, tested it on one of the new butterflies I cut Sunday night, and this morning all is good. I can finish the next 7 butterflies and list them for sale!

And at this, I'm adding "stained glass" and "watercolor" as tags for the blog. I'm realizing that my training blog, all gung-ho and full of miles, needs to change with me. 

End of December summary

Not much time for it now, but I'm here to say that during the holiday travel to Nashville and in the time leading up to it I did maintain the goal 5 times per week exercise, rested on weekends, and kept to a 95%+ Whole30. I successfully did a long travel spanning two weekends without getting very sick at all! I held to my routines, getting up early for exercise, skipping restaurant meals if I was unsure of the foods, and to bed early with a few exceptions.

In Nashville, I did daily (all 5 days!) elliptical and walking, or running, and always some strength session. It set my momentum for the day, and gave me that private time I needed.

I'm also more in the habit of daily art again, after stopping when Sugar died. 

My time with family was refreshing and reminded me of what's really important. And it's hard seeing the changes that happen there that I miss out on. My parents and my niblings are getting older! 

And LA and I are seriously ready to move from AA, if needed. Looking at STL and Chicago. And kinda on Nashville.

We did visit the dog in Nashville, tentatively named Opry (The Grand Ole Opry, haha) but nothing solid decided yet. I'm still stuck on my Sugar. 

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We spend the New Year's Holiday in Chicago, also a honeymoon of sorts, I'd planned to take the weekend off of running, lifting, anything. There was a lot of sitting in a car unfortunately and the only walk was to a foggy lighthouse on Jan 2nd in Benton Harbor. 

It felt good, and Tuesday morning on the 3rd I was back at the gym. Separate post. 

I'll be back for the Year End post.