Patience - Week 4

 

Another good week.  I was within my calories every day last week.  I met my step goal of 35K, which was about 5k better than the week before.  I have been making small weekly goals so that I can feel successful.  I tend to be an all or nothing person.   I tend to be a now person.  Patience is not my strong suit.  I'm trying to remind myself that I did not gain all of this week overnight, so losing it is also not going to happen overnight.  

I did weigh myself after my cleanse day last week and I have hit the 5 pound loss mark, it's slow and I am a wee bit frustrated with how slow, I am also trying to accept it and know that losing is better than staying the same or gaining.  

We did go out to lunch on Friday & even with a skinny Margarita and two glasses of wine with dinner, I still managed to be within my allowed calories.  We also went out to dinner for Valentine's Day which is technically the start of this week and I was about equal on calories in and calories out.   I have to say that wine consumption is WAY down.  I split a bottle of white Friday & Saturday nights and then Bill & I shared a bottle for our Valentine's Day dinner.   I'm not missing it, to be honest.  I'm pretty satisfied with my 2 glasses on those few nights that I'm allowing myself to have it.   My brother is still baking cookies, which are hard to resist & I still have my mini-drumstick for dessert at night.  They are only 70 calories!! 

I have been doing Cammie's daily fitness challenge.   I have let myself get behind a few days, but I have caught up and made sure to do each and every day.  It does hurt a wee bit more when you procrastinate and end up having to do 3-4 days at one time!  But I am doing it.    My step goal this week is 40k, which should be an easy goal to achieve because we are back in business with our Parking Lot Dance Parties this weekend.  If all goes well, I should end up with 20k steps on Saturday alone!  However, I am still trying to get a little more each day this week vs the same day last week.

I did buy a few warmer clothes items from Kohl's since our outdoor dining is open again & I wanted a few choices for our Friday lunches or our dinners that we are planning on doing each week.  There was a very cute "oversized" sweater.  It only came in S/M or L/XL.  I didn't even hesitate and purchased the L/XL, well it was on the really oversized side.  I decided to order a few more sweaters but ordered the S/M and they fit!   I have now ordered all 5 colors that the sweater comes in and have 2 to return that were the larger size, so that felt good! 

The other patience testing part of my life now is our move to Reno.   I am so ready for things to happen and they are out of my control.  We have to wait for the permits so that they can break ground.  They aren't supposed to break ground until March and I realize March is less than two weeks away, but I want to know NOW.   We have our Design appointments set for April and I know that will be stressful but exciting at the same time.  I have been obsessing just about every evening on various websites building wish lists for things that we will need after we move.  Closet Organization System, a few pieces of furniture, blinds/window coverings, outdoor ideas.  It's all very overwhelming.  

It's also very stressful not knowing our timeline.  We don't know exactly when Bill's work will move, because of that we don't know when we will for sure put this place on the market.  We have a closing date of 11/26/21 (a really good date-my birthday), of course we want it to be earlier but if that's the date, it's a cool date.  Not knowing how long we will be overlapping with paying a mortgage here and renting something in Reno or do we sell as early as we can and just rent something for 3-4 months and "suck up" the double address change?   If it was just our personal stuff it would be an easier decision, but I'm moving a business also and moving a business twice does not sound fun at all.   

I have always said that the ideal scenario would be to move once.  This would mean putting our house on the market after Bill's work moves, figure that's August, by the time it sells and closes we're at the end of September, hopefully rent back from the buyers for two months and be moved into our new place by the end of November.  However, we'd still be looking at 3-4 months of Bill needing to pay rent someplace in Reno and even an AirBnB is going to end up running about $3k/month.  I know we've talked about hotels, like Residence Inn or similar because he would be coming down the Bay Area for some of the time too to help pack up/get move ready in that situation too.  

I know it will all work out, I do have tremendous faith- it's just the lack of control and the lack of patience that I need to work on.   For now, I am going to focus on my weight loss efforts.....tomorrow is Cleanse-day Wednesday.   I have not done a two day cleanse yet, in large part- it's hard to stay focused with it when everyone else in the house is eating at dinner time.   I tried last week, but I had such a headache not because I was cleansing but I know that I was not drinking enough water.  I will find the right week to do it, again in the right time. 

Progress = Results, Week 3 Accountability

 

Three full weeks since I said "enough already" and decided to get serious about my fitness and nutrition.  I need to remind myself that forward progress is good regardless of how little it may be, in the end it will be baby steps of progress that will result with the big goal in the end.  My end goal is not small.  I know I need to lose at least 70 pounds, but ideally want to lose 90 pounds.  And of course, I want it yesterday!  Patience is not my strong suit and it appears that 2021 is going to test my patience with every chance she gets. 

I had a good week.  Ok, I think I had a pretty damn good week.   My fitbit is set up for a 250 calorie deficit which should equate to about a 1 pound weight loss per week.  Of course, I'd much prefer to have the 500 calorie deficit which would be a more desirable 2 pounds per week.  I'm not there yet, but I will get there.  I am proud to say that every day this past week, my calorie grid was green (in the zone) or blue (under the zone).  Under doesn't bother me because it was a day that my deficit was between 250-500 calories, so it just means to me that I am getting closer to being able to set that 500 calorie deficit as the goal. 

What amazes me is that I did this with 3 social outings.  Monday I had breakfast with a girlfriend at Stack's.  I had eggs and bacon, no toast and no potatoes.   Wednesday, I had lunch on the patio with two girlfriends and stuck with my cleanse day.   "Lunch" was about getting together, not so much about eating, so it was just fine that I was drinking my cleanse drink.  I couldn't do that at a restaurant.   Friday night we went out to dinner with another couple.  I had a cocktail and two glasses of wine, I splurged with chocolate mousse for dessert, but I was on point all day, burned more calories than normal, so it didn't matter that my dinner was 1100 calories, it balanced out with the 700 calories I had earlier in the day.  What I did not do was have more wine when we got home.  We still had a few hours together watching TV until Bill went to bed, he had more wine & I chose not to.   Saturday night I had a zoom Happy Hour with two gal pals, I had a glass of wine with them and then another with dinner but saved the remainder of the bottle for Sunday night.   This is all HUGE progress for me.   

I did get on the scale mid-week (which I said I would not do) but I was curious to see what my weight was after the cleanse day.   Of course, it still confirmed that I'm on track for 1 pound per week and I have lost 3 pounds so far, but I am hoping tomorrow will show more on my true weigh in day and I will not weigh in again until the following Monday. 

Activity is getting better.   Each day I had better step counts, I got up more, moved around the house more.  Those 3 social outings got me moving more as well.  This staying at home stuff for the past year has truly killed my fitness because I was always going somewhere!  I danced off and on Saturday in between getting some natural vitamin D on the patio and ended the week with a total of 31K steps which is an improvement from the previous week and that is ultimately my goal- to do better than the week before.  Today (Sunday) was the start of the next fitbit week and my steps are low thanks to the Puppy Bowl, the Kitten Bowl and then the Super Bowl but I will make up for it during the week. 

My friend Cammie has been posting various workout challenges each month.  Everyday is a small task just to do something.  I started on Feb 1st and then dropped the ball.  On Saturday, I decided to make up and did the workouts for Feb 2nd-6th.  This meant 45 squats, 65 minute plank, 19 chair dips, 32 crunches, 26 leg lifts and 13 push-ups.  That was a lot of fun 😂 and I felt it today!! However, I still managed to do today's challenge which was another 25 squats, 7 push-ups and 16 leg lifts.  💪👊

I did not get to my Body Pump workouts this past week as I had hoped, but will make sure to get 1-2 in this week.  I'm really craving a good Body Combat workout and my body NEEDS a good Body Flow workout.  I really am out of shape, lack major flexibility - it's embarrassing. 

I could have done better on sleep this past week, I had two days that were under 7 hours because I had 9am work zoom meetings for 3 days and my late nights are hard to break.  My average sleep for the week was right at 7 hours.  I like to average 7.5 if possible.  I will aim to do better with that this week. 

This coming week is pretty light with meetings, so I really should not have any excuses!!  Going to make it a great week! 

Dance is Good for the Soul

 

As I've stated in previous posts, finding the motivation to "move" over the last 10 months has really been difficult.  I had a few really good stretches of getting my 10k steps per day and most of the time, I got those steps by Line Dancing in my living room.   Dancing is my gig.  No doubt that dancing gives me peace, joy, exercise and it makes me happy.   Lately, the last few months though I've had a hard time motivating myself to dance.   I miss my dance family.   Line Dancing is not quite the same by yourself.  But knowing all of this and knowing that this year I need to make some positive changes to lose weight and get back into "fighting shape", I decided to make myself dance.   It didn't take long for me to feel that joy, to feel that peace once again.   I danced a good 7k steps yesterday and a good 4k steps today.  I'm not focusing so much on the 10k per day - YET.   Right now I just need to do better than what I've done, so if I can achieve a weekly goal or a daily goal to be better than the week before or the month before, then I have been successful.    This past week I had just over 28K steps...I have not had that many since October 31st and the only reason I had 44K steps the week ending 10/31/20 is because we had a dance party on Halloween and I logged 20K steps that day! 

I have been pretty "OK" with the nutrition this week.  I still have some work to do to really be on track in this part of the equation.   It doesn't help when my brother bakes chocolate chip cookies.   Today the house smelled of freshly baked cookies and crockpot lasagne. But it's all about balance.  

I'm not sure what the scale will say tomorrow.  I was able to successfully cleanse one day this past week and am hoping to cleanse two days this week.   Our outdoor dining is no longer restricted, which is great.  These restaurants need to be open so that they can try to survive through this pandemic.  Bill & I resumed our Friday brunch at Angelicas and it felt so nice to be outside dining again!   I have 3 "dates" this week with friends for safe outdoor gatherings, so I am trying to be very aware of my calories so that this does not backfire on me.   One of the gatherings is lunch on my patio and that will be a cleanse day, I can easily drink my bone broth during lunch, so much easier than being at a restaurant.   And I know that my friends will understand why I'm not eating "food" with them! 

My goals for the upcoming week:   maintain my calorie intake and try to keep the caloric deficit.   Continue to dance.   Break out the weights and start doing BodyPump in the living room.  I want to start doing this 3 times a week.   Alcohol is out of the picture until Thursday or Friday. 

Hello February! 

GOALS: Week One Accountability

Week one:

As I said in my last entry, it's time for me to get back in shape.  On Monday, I weighed in and took my measurements.  I compared those to previous measurements and let's just say,  WOW!  It was pretty eye-opening.    Not that looking at myself in an unexpected mirror was not eye-opening enough the previous week, but still just WOW. 

I am pretty proud of my week overall.  I have been logging my food intake and have stayed under my burned calories for most of the days.   My activity has been low, so I have resisted the urge to splurge.   If I don't have the calories to spend, it's not going to happen.    One day was even, one day was over but the rest of the week I was under the calories burned.  I am hoping for a positive sign on the scale tomorrow morning.   I have been successful with my 2 shakes per day with the exception for the weekend, I didn't have any on Saturday but had one on Sunday.  I know I need to work on this, it's hard when my brother cooks breakfast on Saturdays.  I don't want to say "no" because it is thoughtful, but it's so filling that I really don't eat anything else until dinner.  I know that's not good for weight loss. 

Today I had the most activity.  Today is "day one" according to Fitbit and I have more than 1/2 the number of steps today than I did all of last week!   So that should give me a good jump start to make it a good week.  How did I get so many steps on a Sunday?  I took down Christmas.  I kept saying I was going to leave it up until our lockdown is lifted, but it sounds as though that could be coming sooner than I thought and we will be able to once again go out to restaurants!   However, even though I was active today, I am in pain and have been in pain most of the time that I was active.  I'm also sad and pissed off that I'm in pain.  The reason that I'm in pain is because I'm so fucking out of shape and so fat!  It's this vicious cycle.  But ultimately, I am so pissed that I allowed myself to get to this point.  I realize that though I take full responsibility, this last year has been a shit show and so hard to be active and stay accountable.   But I can't let that dictate my life , I am determined to snap out of it, now is the time.   I had to take two advil and have been icing my back once all was done and put away.   

Tomorrow will be a better day, though now I'm tempted to do a little dancing to get my 10k steps- I'm only about 8-9 dances away! I think I can do that, I think I should to this! 

2021- Goals & Adventures

 New Year, New Beginning and to be cliche- New Me!   I'm overdue!   

2020 was not kind to me.   My Travel Business came to a stand-still, I lost more earned money than ever before.  I do not have any hope of making money until late 2021 and even that is shaky at this point.  Seems every day we get another blow.  This past week was a new CDC requirement for travelers to test negative before flying back to the USA.  Enough already! 

My fitness career also came to a stand-still.  Gyms had to close with the pandemic and even though my home club, the JCC has re-opened with outdoor classes, there are very few and they are not Les Mills.  During the course of the year, the JCC "broke up" with their management company, so we are all supposed to be employees of the JCC now, I completed everything but never heard a thing.  I don't even receive instructor emails anymore.  I spoke to another instructor who I know does not want to get back to teaching until the pandemic is gone or at least controlled with vaccines & she was told that she's on the sub list.   I kept procrastinating getting in touch with my Director about this but of course began all of the negative self-talk.  "They don't want me", "I'm not good enough to teach there", "I'm too fat", "I'm not fit enough"--the list goes on.   At this point, I'm going to let it ride.   I don't know when/if they will bring back the classes that I teach and I'm not sure that I'm ready to go back to teaching with masks, etc.  At this point in time, I am fat and I am not fit.   2020 was not kind.

All of this being said, we have a new beginning this year and that will be a move to Reno, NV.   Bill's work is relocating and we decided to take on the new adventure.  Of course, I am also a realist and given that he's worked there for 32 years and is currently our sole supporter financially, it makes sense.  We are both excited about this & have put a deposit down on a new build in an Active 55+ Adult community.   It's really time to get back on track.  Honestly, the physical aspect of moving might kill me (not quite literally) but I am so out of shape and not very strong anymore, it's pathetic.  I weigh the heaviest that I have ever weighed.  EVER.  I don't eat right, I drink too much wine and I am not exercising.  

Eating: probably the least part of the problem.  I am aware of what I am eating, I just don't think I'm being consistent or on a good schedule.  I wake up and usually have my coffee first and then I'm not really hungry for hours, then I get my Isagenix shake, maybe a decent snack later in the day and then it's too close to dinnertime.  We normally cook something decent for dinner and I eat small portions. But I do act out.  I will have chips, cookies, ice cream, etc.  Not all of the time, but if I splurge I'm all in. 

Wine: well the drinking starts in the evening and I often will drink a bottle over the course of 4-5 hours. Honestly, it's not a terrible amount but I should not be doing this every night.  I get bored or I get depressed and then I don't care and it becomes this vicious circle.  I have tried and been successful to limit the drinking to 2-3 days a week and that's what I need to get back to.  OR restrict myself to 2 glasses per night.  I know what I need to do, I know that I can do it and I think I am finally at the point where I want to do it. 

Exercise: with all the free time that I have, you'd think I would be going for 4-5 mile walks every day (like I used to when I was busy), you'd think that I would do BodyPump, Combat or Flow in the living room to one of my training videos but I lack serious motivation.  As for the walking, I think I need to delete the Citizen App from my phone.  I get alerts of all sorts of crazy crimes going on in the neighborhood, I don't know if it's because of the pandemic and people are desperate but I'm just not comfy going walking by myself like I once was.   I did have a good spree of dancing in the living room but then I got burned out with that and it's just not the same as dancing with my friends.  I have probably worked out (including dancing) maybe 30 days in the last 10 months.  Maybe.  I know it'll be hard to get going again but I also know once I get going, I will feel energized and will get back into the routine.

Sleep & TV & Social Media:  though I track my sleep and most nights I am getting enough sleep: 7-8 hours per night, I stay up way too late.  I am a night owl, this I know.  I have always been a night owl, but I need to start going to bed earlier so that I can get up earlier and drink my shake, attack my workout and then have my coffee.  I need to develop the good routine that I once had.  I waste hours late at night watching the game show network & scrolling around on Social Media.  Good Lord.  Obviously, this is all new since the pandemic because I don't have anything to get up early for--but I really do, I need to get up earlier for me.  It would be one thing if I was staying up late to work on trip quotes or catching up on paperwork! 

I know when I exercise, I make better choices with food and alcohol.   I want to lose at least 50 pounds before we move, it would be even better to lose 70 pounds by then.  I think that would put me at a very comfortable weight.  It's still not my Wedding Day weight, but it would still be a healthy weight and good size for me.   Though I had body image issues when I was teaching classes.  Over the last few years, I experienced weight gain due to Menopause (twice), I think I'm over that hurdle by now but now the weight gain is covid weight gain and lack of lifting weights means that I've lost muscle mass, so I am fat and flabby.  I usually like to say fluffy but I'm beyond fluffy.  I was sitting on the guest room bed the other day while the house cleaners were cleaning my office.  I was in direct view of the full mirrored closet doors- OH EMMMM GEEEEE!   Not pretty, it was disgusting if I'm being really honest with myself. 

I am coming up on the renewal of my ACE Primary fitness certification and my CPR (which is required to renew the CPR), I've considered letting it lapse and hang up my teaching hat, but doing that means that I am doing it because Covid happened, not because I decided to stop teaching.  Today I looked up online to see where there might be Les Mills classes close to where we will be living in Reno.  I discovered that there is an Athletic Club about 10 minutes away that offers just about every Les Mills format.  I decided to be brave and posted in the LM Instructor group on Facebook to see if anyone taught at this club or knew anything about this club.  Well, the Group Exercise Director messaged me & another well-respected industry friend of 20 years chimed in on the post.  I feel good about this and  having hope to teach again will help to get me back on track, will keep me focused.  I know that teaching kept me accountable with my own healthy choices and it also did wonders to my mental health.  There is no way that I will audition to teach at a new club in the current state of my body! 

I just want to feel good and healthy again.  Once we do get to Reno, I want to feel in shape, I want to go line dancing and fit into my cute jeans and cute tops.  I have not been to a Ross store in over a year. I've had no need!    I want to get back into my cute bikinis since we will have a Community pool, it's an Active Community- I want to be Active.  I also want to feel as though I can go hiking and exploring around Nevada.  As we make new friends and start doing things with others, I don't want to be that person that holds everyone up because she can't keep up.  I have always been the one that people couldn't keep up with!! 

The time is now.  I need to do this for myself.  I want to enjoy our new adventure.  I want to get back to having a purpose and right now my purpose is to get back in shape to make the move as easy as possible and to get back to teaching.  I think I will have plenty of free time for the next 1-2 years until my business fully recovers or comes close to recovered.  I can't continue to eat cookies, ice cream, chips, popcorn and drink wine and expect to be healthy!  Behaviors need to be reframed. The time is NOW. 

CORN DIP RECIPE

 

CORN DIP RECIPE

Many of you have had the yummy Corn Dip and wanted the recipe- so here goes

I typically make a double batch--but here is the single batch measurements:
 
1 cup mayonnaise
2 cups shredded cheese (I usually mix Jack and Cheddar)
3/4 cup parmessan cheese grated
1 small can green chiles
1 can (15 oz) corn
1 small can of jalapenos-diced

Mix it all up, put into 8 X 8 baking dish (spray first with my namesake), 

then bake at 375 degrees for 40 minutes.
 
FYI- a double batch will still fit in the 8X8 dish, even though 

you won't think that it would!
 
Serve with Tostitos Scoops!
 
Another tip- I wanted to make this for a girls weekend in Tahoe, 

but didn't want to take up all the ingredients- 

so I mixed it the night before and put it in a ziploc bag- 

when we got up to Tahoe, I transferred it into the pan and baked.
 
Another tip--the Double Batch is SUPER EASY because the 

ingredients come in proper amounts-

get a 2 cup bag of shredded jack, a 2 cup bag of shredded cheddar,  

one tub of grated parmesan cheese, 2 cans corn, 2 cans chiles, 2 cans jalapenos-

-the only mess is the mayo that you need to measure out into 2 cups

...then mix it all up! 

2020- Reflections on an "unprecedented year"

 

2020 - you were a challenge, but you weren't all bad!! 

January:  started out with sickness, I was sicker than I've ever been starting 1/4/20 and it lasted at least 3 weeks.  I will forever wonder if I didn't have covid.  I had all the Classic symptoms:  dry stubborn cough that would not go away,  fever that would look like it was breaking only to come back again and some breath shortness when moving around.  Of course, we didn't know what covid was in January!   That being said, I pushed myself to attend both 49er playoff games at Levi's and they earned their ticket to the Super Bowl.

February:  Super Bowl!! Though the Niners didn't win, we still enjoyed the thrill of cheering them on during the game!   We enjoyed time with friends & celebrated Valentine's Day at a great party.

March:  I got to meet a fellow TA friend from Nebraska as she was visiting the SF Bay Area.  We had a lovely dinner down at Fisherman's Wharf & we stayed overnight in the city (little did we know)...and we also went out to dinner to celebrate our good friend Linda's birthday- again having no idea that would be our last time to eat out at a restaurant- inside!    I taught my last Body Pump class on March 11th & danced my last night of dancing at the Saddle Rack that same night.  The Saddle Rack closed the next night, taking a prevention stance before official lockdown (which is to be respected) & March 17th the state of CA was on lockdown orders, only allowed out for "essentials". 

April:  I surprised my sister with a special Zoom for her birthday, she thought it was just going to be the immediate family, but I arranged to have our cousins in CT & some of her best friends to join in.  She cried.  It was a success.   We also changed with the times and celebrated Easter over zoom!  Being empathetic to friends who live alone, we also surprised another friend on her birthday with a plant and card that we delivered to her doorstep.

May:  A bittersweet month.  The Saddle Rack announced that they would not reopen when the pandemic was over or under control or whenever they would be given the green light to re-open.   Our dance family was shattered & heartbroken.  However, we did get together on Memorial Day weekend for a parking lot party with all the necessary precautions and it felt so good to dance with friends again - even though we found out later that we were not allowed to do this- yet.   More zoom social hours, sunshine arrives and I spent numerous afternoons taking in "Vitamin D"

June:  No real graduation ceremony for Nolan (8th grade) or Brynn (HS), but we watched ceremonies on the internet.  I also watched the very last graduating class on FB live graduate from Mercy.   I had a picnic lunch with my sister on her patio. Bill & I celebrated our 14th wedding Anniversary and we were super thankful that restrictions began to be lifted, so we stayed overnight at the Ritz Carlton Half Moon Bay, ate at their outdoor restaurant twice, enjoyed an afternoon at Filoli Gardens and then had a nice dinner outside in downtown Redwood city.  We felt human again!   We got to go out to dinner two weeks later for Bill's birthday!  We finally got to see our Godkids and their parents with a lovely outdoor gathering in their backyard.  However, June did not come and go without sadness, my fitness family lost a truly beautiful & sunny soul when Wendy passed away after several cancer battles. 

July:  A fairly quiet month.  Many days on the patio enjoying the sunshine.  We were finally cleared to have another Parking Lot Dance Party.  Brynn had a graduation party that we sadly had to decline, with covid guidelines we just did not feel as though going was the right thing for us to do. 

August:  We enjoyed more days on the patio both by day and night.  Card games, dice games, Mexican Train - all to keep us busy and entertained.   We had a few more parking lot dance parties, which were always a highlight.  Zoom happy hours on a weekly basis, which were truly a Godsend to stay connected with great friends...and then a Thunderstorm induced fire storm throughout much of the greater Bay Area.  There were 3 huge complex fires that burned for months.  Thankfully, everyone we know remained safe and free from any property loss.  Bill & I also started having outdoor dining lunch on Fridays to help support our favorite restaurants.

September:  Got to enjoy a lunch out with Diane and Mama Yelinek to celebrate Diane's birthday.  More Zooms.  More parking lot dance parties & 49er football season began!  I also had a sister lunch in Walnut Creek on her patio! 

October:  We went on vacation!!  Took a trip to Cabo for 10 days and had the time of our lives!   Our dance family even went "live" from their parking lot party to include us from Mexico!!  Went out to dinner with the Barron family to celebrate Shelby's birthday!  We enjoyed a wonderful parking lot party for Halloween with live music provided by the Rob Tracy Band & I finally got to see my very good friend Tiina!  More football, more baseball (LA won the world series- boo!  But it is 2020!!!) 

November:  An election to remember.  The earliest that I've ever decorated the house for Christmas, my combined Thanksgiving/Birthday celebration and my first Thanksgiving to cook!  We decided to be "covid safe" and did not gather outside of our house for Thanksgiving.  I did receive a wonderful surprise visit from the Barron girls who delivered the Happy Birthday song and flowers.  Made me feel super special!  And of course, more zooms!   Lockdowns started to be implemented again and Santa Clara County was one of the first so our November parking lot party ended up being canceled. 

December:  Usually our busiest month because we have a gazillion social gatherings.  Not this year.  We missed seeing our friends & we missed hosting our annual party that has become a big hit with all of our friends.  It was heartwarming to see people post memories of our parties showing that they miss it too!   However, we had time to do things that we never had time to do before:   we visited Filoli with the holiday lights at night & we did Christmas in the Park in San Jose which became a drive through event this year.  Both were fantastic!  Of course, more zooms with friends and colleagues, many nights of playing cards or dice with Bill and other friends over zoom, binge watching various shows and movies.  Christmas Day was just our household & it was nice.  We did manage to have a drive by Christmas Day Mimosa toast with the Barron family (modifying tradition slightly).  We also did a quick getaway to Reno to contemplate our future.   It was a really great mini-getaway. 

Overall, 2020 may not have been the year we expected to have, but it wasn't all that bad.  We have connected even more deeply with certain friends,  we have strengthened what was already a strong marriage (we really do love being together), we are thankful for our health & for the health of our family & friends.  I completed all of my photo books & have enjoyed reliving the memories.  I did a puzzle & confirmed that I really am not a puzzle person. We are grateful for the roof over our heads, food on our table & for Bill's steady income/employment! 

Excited for 2021.  I know that this year won't magically be "back to normal"  & we probably won't be back to normal anytime soon, but there is hope with a new year that things will change, things will get better.  I have already received inquiries for travel for late 2021 and into 2022, I won't see any income from trips traveled until late this year and early next year, but we're prepared to continue to weather this financial storm. I did not invest 30 years into this career to walk away from it, my business will flourish once again.   We are also looking at some other changes that will be happening this year, more news to come.  😁

Happy New Year everyone!  

Thanksgiving 2020

 

Thanksgiving is always a time to reflect and to be Thankful for our blessings.   I know that this year for many, trying to find the blessings of 2020 can be difficult.  When things are rough, we can find it so easy to focus on the negative and forget to find the positive things, the blessings in our lives.    The other day I posed a question on FaceBook,  "Say something Positive about 2020",  it generated over 80 replies and I have to say that it was a helpful exercise for all involved to find & focus on the positives.

The positives that people listed were varied, but many celebrated things like no traffic, healthy families, covid-free families/friends, being alive, spending more time with family because so much of the "busy" in our lives is temporarily on pause, welcoming new family members of the human or furry variety, slower pace of life, finding new hobbies, being employed and an overwhelming number said the biggest positive of 2020 is that it is almost over!    Yes, we are close to the last month of 2020 & I think we will all be thankful when this year is behind us and we can only hope that 2021 starts to resemble a better version of the life that we are all missing. 

As much as I have had several pity parties for myself this year, I am thankful that my family is healthy.  We have a roof over our heads and food on our table.  And wine, we have plenty of wine . 😂😂 I am thankful to be married to my best friend, who is just a really kind, loving, gentle human being who makes me laugh daily.  I'm thankful that he's employed and has been working non-stop all year long.  I am thankful for the friends who have made an effort to stay connected during these unprecedented times when we all want to stay safe, still live life but also keep the more vulnerable protected.  I'm thankful for Zoom, seriously.  Making connection possible to many during this crazy year.   I'm thankful that we were able to take a much needed vacation to Cabo last month.  I am thankful for my dance family & our covid-safe, socially-distanced, masked-up parking lot dance parties that we've had together.   Many, many blessings.  I am grateful.  I am blessed. 

Lifetime Friends

 

Lifetime Friends are special!

I have known Cyndi since 1986-ish.  We met working at the Republic Airlines Credit Union (renamed US Federal Credit Union).  I was actually her boss eventually, but we had a really sweet deal.  There were 4 of us working in the office when I became the manager, located in Redwood Shores, just a few blocks away from Cyndi's house.   If I do say so myself, I was a very "cool" boss.  There were 4 of us who worked in the office:  Tanya, Marianne, Cyndi & myself.  We all worked together and I had no problem allowing everyone to have 2 hour lunches so that we could all have some fun.  Often times Tanya & Marianne would take lunch together as Tanya lived close to the office  & Cyndi & I would take a later lunch once they got back.  Many afternoons sitting by her swimming pool.  We both loved our sunshine & hot weather days were never in shortage in Redwood Shores.  My boss was in the Minneapolis office, so he was usually gone from the office by the time we went to lunch given the time difference.  It worked out well.  We all got the work done, did what we needed to do.  We had a lot of fun working together.

Cyndi & I would also hang out together often outside of work.  I remember her teaching me how to drive a stick shift in the Great America Parking Lot after a day of fun at the Amusement Park.  That is still the one and only time in my life that I've driven a stick shift.  Growing up in San Francisco, on a hill, there was no way that I was ever going to drive a stick shift.  However, in an emergency I can probably make it happen. 

Cyndi was a Bridesmaid in my 1st wedding, we celebrated her 30th birthday on a cruise in 1998 and we were very much in each others lives for a good 10 years until she moved to Abu Dhabi to work in the Radiology field.   She probably spent maybe 10 years abroad, we kept in touch via email & we'd try to see each other when she came home to visit her family.  

She moved back for good, around 2002-ish.  It was pretty close to when my 1st marriage fell apart as I have memories of sitting on my couch having "friend therapy" & wine!   Though we wouldn't see each other that often or even talk that regularly, it never fails that we can pick right up from where we left off and it never feels as though we've been apart.   We've met for lunch several times and it's never a short visit.  I don't even want to remember how many bottles of wine we consumed at her house one Saturday night, but boy it was a fun time together many years ago.  This photo above was taken almost 2 years ago as we cruised together for New Years 2018-2019.   Our husbands get along, which is an added benefit ~ they are both whiskey boys, must be the Irish blood!  We were supposed to cruise together again this New Years to ring in 2021; however, due to Covid she has not been able to secure the vacation time (working in the hospital) & in all likelihood this cruise is not going to happen.  I am fully expecting cruises to be canceled through the end of 2020.   I wish the cruise lines would just pull the band-aid off quickly and get it done already!  

Cyndi called me today. It was quite unexpected & it brightened my day.  We talked for over 2 hours.  It amazes me at how we can just pick right up from where we left off & it also amazed me at how we can be so connected and think so much the same.  We are like soul sisters on so many levels.   She is a lifetime friend & I am very thankful for her. 

20 Years of Fitness!!

20 years!!  What a journey it has been.   I know that I've said it in other posts that I was NEVER a fitness person.  I was that girl in 1979 as a Freshman in High School, horrified that in order to pass P.E. class I would have to run 3 miles.  I was not a runner back then & I'm still not a runner.   I got a Doctor's note to excuse me from running the 3 miles, instead to pass I had to write a term paper.  What topic did I choose?   The dangers of running on concrete!  

I was never into playing sports, I did in grammar school because everyone did.  It's what you were expected to do, but I was never very good at competitive sports.  I played Volleyball & Basketball.   I was usually the bench warmer in Basketball & was really heartbroken by it because my dad would take me to the courts every weekend to practice.  Unfortunately, in those days it really did come down to who you knew & if you were friends with the coaches or your families were friends with the coach's family, etc.   

Dance always has and always will be my preferred form of exercise. In grammar school, I was always taking dance classes at a studio a few times a week.  In High School, for my P.E. electives I took dance.  In college, for my required G.E. Physical education classes, I took dance.  I will ALWAYS choose to dance. 

In 1999, when I actually started to visit a gym on a regular basis I fell in love with Group Exercise, specifically Body Pump.  In 2000, I went through a two weekend training the last two weekends of July.   On Sunday July 30th while driving home from training with a conditional pass,  I received a call asking if I could sub the next day.  So Monday, July 31, 2000 at 9:30am in San Carlos at the 24 Hour Fitness, I taught my first Body Pump Class.   I remember that Sunday night taking a hot bath to sooth my aching body & reviewing all the choreography over and over again because I needed to know all 10 tracks to teach.  

FUN FACT:  Part of all Les Mills (formerly Body Training Systems) trainings back then and still today include some sort of "challenge".   Wouldn't you know it that my Body Pump training challenge was running 3 miles???!!!!!  Seriously, I can only imagine the  look on my face when our trainer said that was our challenge.  It's almost as though my High School P.E. teacher (Ms "Log" Lagomarsino) had something to do with this! 

And so it began, my side-gig of teaching group fitness!  I eventually took on more formats over the years, attended numerous training classes and loved every bit of it.  But Body Pump always remained my first love.  In 2002, 24 hour fitness decided to stop offering Body Pump, my heart was broken!   They brought in "Rep Reebok", which was a half-assed wannabe version of Body Pump, I taught it nonetheless.    At that time in 2002, there weren't any clubs along the Peninsula who offered Body Pump.  It took awhile before clubs in the area brought in Body Pump, I was always looking.  A few years later Pacific Athletic Club brought in Body Pump, but they didn't need instructors because all of their existing instructors who were interested became certified.  I was put on their sub list and it literally took about 2 years before I was called to sub; however, it was a long-term sub while an instructor had surgery.  It felt wonderful to teach Body Pump again and I even ran into some of my old 24 hour members who had ditched 24 when they learned they could take Body Pump at PAC.   I remained a sub at a few clubs for Body Pump until I finally landed my own regular class at the OFJCC in Palo Alto back in 2011 & shortly after that I landed 2 classes at Gold's in Mt View.

Over the last 10 years or so, I have modified my teaching schedule and stopped teaching formats that no longer brought me joy.   I also went back to my roots and picked up line dancing along the way roughly 16 years ago.    I've picked up two more certifications in the last 7 years: Les Mills Body Combat and Les Mills Body Flow.  I love Les Mills programs & I love teaching Les Mills programs.  Due to various injuries, a thriving Travel Business & scheduling conflicts I had to give up my Combat & Flow classes in 2018, but remained a sub for both & participated in launches at both the YMCA's and OFJCC up until Covid-19. 

What a way to bring in 20 years of fitness, 2020- the year of Covid-19!   I have not taught class since March 11th.   I have not even looked at the last 2 releases.  Our gyms closed about 2 weeks before we would have launched the 1st quarter releases & I had not gotten to learning them yet.  2nd quarter releases arrived, I downloaded them, I uploaded them to my devices but still have not looked at them.  3rd quarter releases are coming in about a week.  I will make a better effort with these releases.   It's been pretty depressing these past several months & I'm not normally one to be depressed.  As many of us have experienced this year- the loss of so much & in my case the decimation of my travel business, the loss of the fitness job, the inability to gather with friends, the inability to go dancing 2-3 times a week.  It's been rough! 

I have thought off and on over the last 2 years with various injuries if I should step down and stop teaching fitness, but then I go teach a class and a member will give me a compliment or I'll get an email from my Director telling me they received a favorable comment card & then I'm on cloud 9 again and want to continue teaching.   I can't say that I've missed teaching these past almost 5 months, but I'm sure if I was back in that room with my people I'd feel right at home again.   I think saying that I don't miss it is also quite possibly a defense mechanism to protect myself from the unknown at this point.

I don't know when my gym will resume classes.  They have just started offering outdoor fitness machines/training but currently no group fitness classes.   With the way California is looking with Covid-19 cases right now, I have a feeling it's going to be a long while before they can offer indoor classes & to be honest, right now I want no part of it.  I do not want to be responsible for cleaning equipment, I do not want to go early to set up, stay after to clean up, I'm not comfortable being in closed spaces with too many people &  I don't want to teach in a mask.  I won't teach in a mask.  

I do know that I won't let Covid-19 determine my fitness instructing retirement date.   I will either go out of my own choice saying that I taught 20 years or I will get back at it when this challenge is behind us and be happy that I kept my foot in the game.  Time will tell. 

Pictured above:  My ORIGINAL certificate from Les Mills Body Training Systems in my 1st married name & then sometime along the way I asked Les Mills if they would reissue my certificate in my new name which was a combination of my maiden name and newly married name. 

Be Kind & Pay it Forward

I wanted to share a story that touched me yesterday.  One of my Facebook friends was out having dinner with her daughter, the server was working the entire restaurant & in conversation shared that she had been working since 10am and was closing at 1030pm.   That's a long day & she was the only server.

My friend admired just how hard of a worker she was and how hard of a job this is for one person, non-stop.  She posted on Facebook about this waitress & that she'd love to bless her with an extra tip.  If anyone would like to donate to this tip, to send her via Venmo the donation & she would pass it all along to the server.  Within an hour, she raised $250 for this waitress.  When she settled the bill, she asked the server if she had a Venmo account, she did not.  My friend explained what she had done, they made arrangements to meet up today.  There ended up being a few more people who wanted to donate, so the final tip ended up being $290.  Of course, the server (Melissa) has already said that she's taking the kindness and paying it forward. 

Good things come to good people.  Feeling so blessed, lucky, happy and with a restored belief in the human race, Melissa stopped at the store on her way home from work last night.  She purchased a scratch off lottery ticket for $30 and she ended up winning $500.  It was definitely her day! 

We're living in a very sad time right now.  Our country is so divided, people are so mean & angry.  You can't voice your beliefs for fear that you'll be attacked.  Everyone has to be "right" at all costs, it's exhausting.  All of it. This was a bright light in my day & I wanted to share.   It was very refreshing to see and to be a part of this act of kindness (yes, I did send a donation). 

Let's Get Real

So this blog is supposed to be about pretty much anything that I feel like writing about.  However, the summary of the blog implies that I post about my weight loss journey.  I have not done that in a VERY long time.   I am coming upon my 20 year anniversary of teaching Group Fitness.  July 31st will be 20 years since the day that I taught my first BODYPUMP class.

Blogging wasn't a thing 20 years ago, so here is the hopefully short story!  Who am I kidding, I am my mother's daughter- we can tell stories.   July of 1999,  I started Weight Watchers.  I knew that my diet was lacking severely.  I was the junk food junkie.  In hindsight, I believe I was also depressed with regards to my 1st marriage at the time.  I was married to a man who said a number of times, "If you blimp out, I'm gone."   I think he said it enough times that I finally figured that I better do something about it.   I went to WW completely expecting that it would not work for me.  I even told the leader (my dearly departed friend BobbyJo) at my first weigh-in, "this isn't going to work for me, I don't eat any vegetables."  She asked me a few questions & reassured me that I would be successful.  I began my journey.

All my life, I've struggled with a little extra weight.  I was teased in grammar school, I was never "FAT" during my school years, but I always had some extra padding.   Once I started to see results with WW, I wanted to start getting active.  The "rule" with WW is that they don't push activity on you until you've lost 10% of your starting weight, but I was eager to get started.  I joined 24 hour fitness and went to my first BODYPUMP class.  I was the student in the back of class, not sure what to expect & God forbid if I couldn't do it all, I did not want to be up front for everyone to see.    I fell in love with the program & began going 3 times a week.  In addition to class, I started going for walks in the neighborhood.   By the end of 1999, I had lost close to 40 pounds & soon hit  50 pounds a few months into 2000.   July of 2000, one of my favorite instructors (Elizabeth) gave up her Saturday class & there wasn't an available instructor to take it over.   That is when I inquired about what was needed to become an instructor.  As luck would have it, there was a training in July up in Fairfield, back to back weekends.  I signed up & was on my way!    In between the two training weekends, I visited a weeknight class taught by Elizabeth & she called me up to teach the Bicep track in her class.  I just about died, but I did it.  It was amazing!   As I was driving back from Fairfield at the end of training having a provisional pass until I submitted my certification video, I received a phone call from Elizabeth asking if I could sub a class Monday at 930am.   Not many instructors get the chance to teach a full class all by themselves the day after completing training.  The confidence that Elizabeth had in me was amazing.  She talked me off the ledge & I agreed to teach the class.

The rest as they say is "history".  It didn't take long before I had several of my own regular BODYPUMP classes.  Over the years, I took training in a variety of other formats & at my peak I was teaching 18 classes a week ranging from BODYPUMP, yoga, aqua aerobics, turbo kickboxing, boot camp, spin, etc.  I had a pretty awesome & busy instructor schedule. 

Because my husband was an avid triathlete, I encouraged him to get certified to teach Spin class.  He did & he started to teach classes at the gym.   Eventually, that suggestion backfired on me but in hindsight everything works out for the best.  He met a personal trainer at the gym & they had an affair.  I found out pretty early in the affair, we separated and a year later we were divorced.  I met Bill a few weeks later, we knew right away that we were meant to be together.  We were engaged a year later and married the year after.  We have now been together for 16 years.

Eventually, I scaled back on my classes when they started to conflict with my new life with Bill.   For a long time though I had maintained between 5-10 classes per week & we went dancing 2-3 times a week as well.  I was in the best shape of my life.  But then you live the good life of eating out, wining and dining, staying home more because you just love to be together and the weight starts to come on. I did pretty well at maintaining a 20 pound gain for a long time & I was very healthy regardless.  My Doctor has said on many visits that all my test scores are where they need to be, it's just my weight that doesn't fit what they like to see.

Then Menopause happens....TWICE. Yes, twice!  You are officially in Menopause if you can count 2 years without a period.  I went 23 months and then bam, my ovaries came out of retirement for two months.  After that I was back on track & officially made it to full on Menopause.  Well one of the side effects of Menopause is weight gain.  I gained 10 pounds with round one and started to lose it when round two arrived.  With round two, I gained close to 20 pounds.  I kept teaching classes, though not as often. But it helped to keep me accountable.  We were still dancing 1-2 times a week, so I was active.

I started consuming Isagenix products, which I know have made me healthier.  I love them & they did help me lose about 20 pounds, it is a lifelong commitment and it can be a challenge.  I don't always want to have 2 shakes a day, but I'm not always making better choices if not a shake.  Covid-19 has presented me with a whole other challenge.  March 11th was the last time that I taught BODYPUMP, over 4 months ago.  I have been eating crap, drinking more often than normal because I usually don't drink when we go out dancing, which was 2-3 days a week.  I stress ate, I stress drank, it's been a rough couple of months.   I have had little to zero motivation to work out.  Though the scale says that I've only gained 4 pounds, I know that I've probably gained 10 pounds of fat and lost lots of muscle.  I am VERY fluffy, flabby, whatever you want to call it.  I DO NOT like the way that I look in photos and a photo surfaced this weekend at a group line dance gathering and OMG.

20 years ago, it took me seeing a photo of myself to see how bad I had gotten.  Here we are again with a photo telling me I need to get my crap together- AGAIN.   But now more than ever it feels more urgent.  Covid-19 is no joke.  If I were to get sick, just being obese  puts me in the "at greater risk" for a less than favorable outcome.   I'm actually not entirely convinced that I didn't have Covid-19 back in January. I have never been so sick & I had the main 3 symptoms: fever that was hard to get rid of, persistent cough for weeks and shortness of breath in situations that would normally be easy like going up the stairs.

I need to get serious AGAIN.  I need to get on the weight loss train.  Back to measuring portions, logging all food and beverage intake & limiting the empty calories: i.e.  wine and ice cream!   And getting my ASS moving again!   I will get back to doing BODYPUMP at home 3 times a week & start my walks or do my line dancing to get my 10k steps per day.  I know that part of me has held back at doing these things because I feel as though I'm so out of shape, it's a damned if you do, damned if you don't situation.

I don't know when my gym where I taught BODYPUMP will resume classes, it may be awhile & I'm OK with that.  I'm not eager to rush to the gym anytime soon.  They are just about to open with outdoor fitness options only.  At this point, I'm embarrassed to go teach.  I would not feel comfortable in front of a class right now.   It may very well be time to retire from teaching fitness, but I think I need to get comfy in my own skin again before making that decision to make sure that I'm making it for the right reasons.

Original Journey before & after:

 2nd Journey, photos are backwards--but after & before, about 6 months between.

3RD JOURNEY STARTS HERE!! HEAVIEST THAT I'VE EVER WEIGHED & I'M DISGUSTED THAT I'VE LET MYSELF GET TO THIS POINT. 

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Random Thoughts on Covid-19

It's been a rough beginning to 2020.    Aside from the immediate and direct impact from Covid-19 to my business, my livelihood, I find myself in very uncomfortable territory regarding the entire situation.

My job is to sell travel dreams.  My job is to help people explore the world, meet new people, new cultures, explore new beaches, new ships, etc.  Even though some destinations are starting to re-open to tourism, I find that I just can't promote travel just yet.  Part of me wants to get up and get out of town, take a vacation even if it's just a road trip in CA & part of me says "stay home, it's the right thing to do", then devil's advocate says, "but your husband has been going to work every day this year, he needs a vacation.  A stay-cation won't do because he will still get on the computer."  Part of me wants to get on the next plane to Mexico because I have several colleagues who have been in the last few weeks and have talked about how wonderful it was & then part of me just wants to curl up in a ball & wake up when this is all over.

Aside from not being able to travel or to sell travel, I miss our life.  I miss going dancing, I miss going to sporting events, I miss just deciding to go out to brunch or dinner, I miss getting together with friends on a whim.  I am a planner by nature, but the planning required around Covid-19 is a whole other game.

I hate being conflicted.  I have strong feelings, but then they change on any given day.   I know that this virus is very real, I don't doubt that it's contagious and that it can be deadly.   I also believe that we are being played to some degree.  I don't think the numbers are being reported accurately.  I've heard too many stories & read too many articles that cast that shadow of doubt.    I think it's bad, but not as bad as the numbers portray.  I do believe a large part of what is being reported is politically motivated.

I hate the mask as much as the next person.  But I'd rather wear one when required & find out months from now that it was not necessary vs. not wearing one now and being dead in 3 months or infecting a loved one who dies or has serious health issues from being sick.  I do not think wearing a mask makes me a sheep, I do not think wearing a mask makes me a liberal & I don't think wearing a mask says that I live in fear.  I believe wearing a mask means that I err on the side of caution, it means that I want to protect you just in case I am a silent carrier of this virus, I would hope that you want to protect me.  Sadly, that's not the case in our "ME" society.   I'm saddened by the level of selfishness that our nation has become.   I do not believe that wearing a mask is a 100% way to prevent Covid-19, but they can reduce the spread of the virus, they can slow the spread of the virus.

I hate that some people simply do not get it.   The people who think it's OK to co-mingle with multiple households every weekend, have gatherings, have parties, disrespect social distancing guidelines and wearing masks in close social situations.  Just because your gathering is outside does not mean you don't have to keep 6 feet apart or wear a mask.   I feel that these people are part of the problem.  I fear for some of my friends & loved ones who I see disrespecting these guidelines & pray that they don't inadvertently infect their loved ones or get sick themselves.

Do I think we should SIP indefinitely?  No.  I support the re-opening of our economy.  That being said, there are too many people who think because the economy is opening up, it means that precautions do not need to be taken.  I've seen tons of social media posts of people at bars, boating parties on the lakes, NO social distancing, NO masks, taking group photos with friends who clearly are not living in the same household.  It's the actions of these people who are causing several of our counties to dial it back a bit and close some businesses again.  This is not fair to those of us who have been staying at home, not seeing our friends, pretty much not going anywhere outside of essential and if we have it's been with the required protocols.  My business will be one of the last to recover & the fact that I have to reply upon others to "do the right thing" so that my business can get back to planning trips is very upsetting because our society has forgotten how to do the right thing.

Bill goes to work every day.  He's had 2 possible Covid scares at work in the last 5 months.  He did have to get tested & fortunately, tested negative as have everyone else at work.  He goes shopping during the week at Costco and/or Trader Joe's since the stores near his work are very low key, no lines, etc.  We both visit the chiropractor and go shopping on Fridays.  We have gotten our hair done since the salons have re-opened & I've gotten my nails done.  Both salons exercising all the required precautions, all of us wearing masks, etc.  Other than that, we've attended one social distanced line dance parking lot party that was perfect, I've had a socially distanced picnic lunch with my sister & we had one evening gathering with our best friends in their backyard mostly socially distanced.  It's hard to say "no" to your 10 year old Goddaughter when she asks if she can give you a hug.  It's also very awkward that we even have to have that conversation & ask permission to hug someone when you would have naturally done so to begin with.

We have dined outside 4 times & felt that every precaution was taken and we felt safe.  We also spent one night at a hotel on the coast for our Anniversary and felt very safe there as well.  I firmly believe that we can't stay locked up forever or until there is a vaccine.  We have to live our lives to some degree, but I still remain guarded.

It all makes me very sad, depressed & at a loss for words. Some days are better than others.  I wake up and wonder "what is going to happen today?", Sometimes I am happy to be home alone & escape to the patio, take in the sunshine and pretend that I'm on vacation somewhere.   I'm not sure what I'm going to do when fall & winter roll around and I don't have that escape.  Maybe then I will finally bite the dust and plan that vacation.

Our First Hotel Stay & Restaurant Outing during Covid-19!

No doubt 2020 has been a challenging year for all of us.  Between stay at home orders, places being closed up for months and months, mixed messages from the media & Scientists, I think that we all feel as though we've been put through the spin cycle in the washing machine at least 100 times.

I am grateful that Bill's job is considered essential & that I have been able to collect unemployment.  A bit humbling as I've never applied for any Government program for assistance my entire life & have always been gainfully employed since the age of 15.  Even though I am still working in the Travel Business, most of the work that I'm doing is not bringing in any income.    I think a lot of people don't understand how Travel Agents get paid.  If we don't charge fees of our own (which many agents do, I never have but am considering putting some changes in place going forward), we don't get paid until clients travel and take the trip.   So though I've been spending plenty of time the last three months canceling trips & rescheduling trips, I am essentially doing all of this work for free.   It can be downright depressing to be honest & I am not a person prone to depression. 

Add to this, we are travelers!  We love to travel.  We have been home since January 4th.  This is just not normal for us.  We've had 2 cruises cancel on us & I had my conference get canceled.  We are hopeful that our cruise in September will happen as planned, but we wait and see for now.   I have made frequent trips to "El Patio" & am getting a noticeable tan that looks like I've been on vacation.  I call this my "Quaran-TAN"!

Bill & I always do something special for our Anniversary.  We both agree that it is the most important day on the calendar for both of us.   We have been successful in always doing something & most cases it involved at least an overnight stay somewhere.   Initially, I would have been flying home from my conference in Orlando the morning of June 10th, we figured we would go to dinner that night and then the next day head away someplace for a long weekend.  I never got around to planning this because of Covid-19 & the uncertainty that brought to our lives.

Imagine my excitement when San Mateo County announced last Friday that restaurants could begin to open up for outdoor dining.  A quick check on my weather app determined that the weather would be favorable, I checked my Open Table app to see which restaurants were ready to be open & secured a dinner reservation for our Anniversary.   Then over the weekend, I caught a Facebook post for the Ritz Carlton Half Moon Bay announcing that their Ocean Terrace Patio was open for sit-down service.  The traveling wheels in my head began to spin around a bit.  I asked Bill, "Do you think you can take off Wednesday?"   I then explained that if he could, we would drive over to Half Moon Bay Tuesday evening, check-in to the hotel for 1 night and then we'd have the entire Anniversary day to spend together before dinner that night.  He texted his boss, day off was approved, so I began to put the plans in motion.

I was actually surprised to see that the rates at the Ritz Carlton did not reflect any sign of our current economic times, it was either going to be $500+ for the night or 60K Marriott Reward points.  I have a hard time parting with that much cash or points for one night under normal circumstances.  No TA rates to be found, so I decided  to pull the trigger and use my 60K Reward points to book a room, just a standard room.  I REALLY wanted a fire pit room though, but that was going to either be another 60K points or $325 additional to the points.   I am really good at asking for favors and perks on behalf of my clients, but I usually SUCK at asking for favors for myself.  Another colleague of mine encouraged me to reach out to the sales department at the hotel.   Through another colleague, I was able to get email addresses for the sales people, I emailed & asked if they might be able to upgrade us to the fire pit room.  Sure enough, it was not a problem.  Not only did the hotel upgrade us, they gave us a free glass of wine at the Ocean Terrace.

We really enjoyed getting OUT.  We really enjoyed having conversations with the staff and even some of the other guests who were also dining at the patio.   We had a nice long conversation with Erin who works in the Accounting department.   She was walking around to see if anyone needed help & ended up clearing our dirty dishes from our table, which started the conversation.  The Ritz never closed, but of course scaled back on staff, so most on board had to wear multiple hats during the last three months.  She said it's really hard for them because "rules" make it very difficult for them to deliver the Ritz Carlton expected experience, but they are doing the best that they can to make guests feel welcome & taken care of. 

We had dinner Tuesday night at the Ocean Terrace and food & service was great.  We enjoyed sitting there watching the sunset and we could not have had a better evening with regard to weather.  We spent the rest of our evening outside by our fire pit enjoying the bottle of wine that we brought from home & we had thought ahead to order a cheese platter "to go" from the Ocean Terrace for the late night munchies- it was perfect.  With the current restrictions, there is no room service and the restaurant closes at sundown.

We woke up on our Anniversary late, sleeping in was needed  the bed was so comfortable.  We got ready leisurely & then visited the Ocean Terrace for lunch before leaving the resort.   Again, excellent service & when the waiter learned that it was our Anniversary he comped our drinks.  Those are the things that they can do to bring that Ritz experience right now.  They made us feel special.

On our way home, we stopped at the Filoli Gardens to visit.  Neither of us had ever been & we thought it was a nice outdoor activity for our Anniversary.  The place is beautiful.  I was not thrilled that a mask is required during your entire visit.  We were definitely more than 6 feet away from anyone else during our visit, so I think that policy should be relaxed.  The county policy says "face coverings are required if you can't maintain the 6 ft. social distance", so I think Filoli takes it a bit to the extreme.  We did take our masks off when we were far away from others.  In 80 degree heat, they are not comfortable at all.





We then had dinner in downtown Redwood City at Arya Steakhouse.  Again, they bent over backwards to serve us & make sure everything was perfect.  We asked my brother to be our "Uber" driver to/from dinner so we could enjoy our cocktails and not worry about driving home, he was more than happy to do that for us.  I'm not comfortable yet getting into a strangers vehicle during the covid-19 health crisis.

It felt amazing to "travel" even if only for 1 night.   It was nice to be at a restaurant, 3 times in 2 days! 

As for Covid-19 protocols that I witnessed:  

At the hotel:

• you can only valet park your car but the valets are using hand sanitizer in between handling cars.  When we left, we still used a wipe to clean all surfaces in the car.
• I had checked-in via the mobile app, so the front desk clerk only had to verify information. I did not need to present an ID or credit card.  There was plexi-glass to divide us & she was wearing a mask.  There was also a barrier to prevent you from leaning against the front desk, keeping social distance.
• Signs all around the hotel advise to wear a mask in all public spaces.
• Signs at the elevators ask you to wait for the next empty elevator car so that you do not ride with people outside of your group.
• Masks are not required once you're sitting at the outdoor dining/patio area & they are not required as you walk around outside as long as you can maintain social distancing.
• Hand sanitizer stations are located around the resort.  
• Most doors have handicap buttons at hand & foot level, so you can easily tap with your elbow or foot to open the door without touching.
• In the room, there were no glasses. 
• Currently, there are no bellboy services but they will provide you with a cart so that you can bring everything to your room.
• Currently, there  is no room service or indoor dining.  We were told that the Conservatory was open for breakfast.  You have to call in the order & then pick it up to either eat outside or in your room. 

At the Ocean Terrace Patio at the Ritz:

• All staff were wearing masks and gloves.
• They sanitize each table once guests leave & then change gloves afterwards
• All tables were easily 6 feet apart, so social distancing was easy.

At Filoli Gardens:

• masks were required for the entire visit both indoors and outdoors.  
• the paths were all marked with one way arrows dictating which direction you visit the gardens
• limited bathroom facilities available & signs that require only one party in the bathroom at a time, there were about 8 stalls in the woman's bathroom, it was not a busy day so this was easy to follow

I'm looking forward to more adventures, but will be proceeding with caution of course.  We can't afford to let our guard down when it comes to Covid-19, so wash your hands,  don't touch your face (I touch mine so often it's hard not to!!), make good use of your knuckles/elbows when touching public surfaces & wear a mask when you are unable to maintain social distancing!  Be Safe!