Loving… my fun beach day at Egmont Key! For someone who lives near so many beaches, it is very rare for me to actually visit them. I find the beach to be a bit unpleasant what with the parking and the people and the sand and the lugging of all the beach necessities. But Bri and I wanted to visit Egmont Key because we learned that it is home to the spookiest area of Florida. We took a ferry to the island where we spent an hour roaming around—Egmont Key used to be a fort used to protect Tampa Bay during the Spanish-American War. It was also a place where the Tocobaga tribe lived until it was taken over by the Spanish. Egmont Key was also used by soldiers and their families during the Spanish-American War and at one time had 300 residents! During our roaming, we saw some ruins and also toured a few of the old batteries (aka, where they would shoot off cannons) that were still standing today. Of course, the main reason people come to Egmont Key is to relax and we for sure made time for that. We had two hours to relax on the beach and enjoy the ocean before we had to get back on the ferry. All in all, it was such a lovely day! (And that post-adventure nap was amazing.) I’ll sprinkle some pictures from the day into this post!
Loathing… feeling out of shape. I know, I know. I’m working on this! Yesterday during our adventure, just walking through sand caused my heart rate to spike into the 160s. Like I was doing a super-intense HIIT workout or something! It’s a reminder that I have lost a lot of my fitness over the past few years, and I know I’m doing exactly what I need to do to get it to a better place. But it’s still hard to realize how far I have to go.
Reading… The Mostly True Story of Tanner and Louise by Colleen Oakley. I am usually pretty good about reading our book club book early in the month, but since we had to move our April book club to the first Friday of May due to scheduling issues, I put off reading the book until I realized late last week that I still hadn’t gotten it from the library. Oops! I quickly ordered it and picked it up on Saturday, and now have just under a week to finish it. It will be a quick read so that shouldn’t be a problem, but I’m usually better than this!
Watching… Mr. and Mrs. Smith, still. Why is it taking me so long to watch this show? It only has eight episodes and every time I sit down to watch one, I’m immediately drawn in! It’s not the fault of the show. Maybe my attention span for watching anything that’s not a 30-minute sitcom or a reality TV show is just trash now. IDK.
Listening to… “Cowboy Carter” by Beyonce. This was my album for April, and I thought it was pretty good. I’ve never actually listened to Beyonce, but wanted to give this album a shot. I have a few faves from the album but the majority of it was a miss for me. (Sorry!) I liked Texas Hold ‘Em, 16 Carriages, Daughter, and Ya Ya the most.
Anticipating… all my fun summer travel plans. Next month, I’m going to New Orleans for a few days. In June, I’m going to Chicago (where I’ll get to meet Kim’s cats, squeeeee). And I’m hoping to also do a long weekend in Deerfield Beach. Let’s go, summertime!
Thinking about… getting bangs. I have been thinking about this for quite a while now. I had bangs for a long time but grew them out during the pandemic. And now I think I want to bring them back to add a little softness to my face. Then again, I do enjoy how much easier life is without bangs. Bangs are a lot of work. There’s the upkeep (I learned how to cut my own bangs when I had them, so I’m not too worried about that), and then there’s just the knowledge that it’s a separate part of my hair I’ll have to deal with every morning. But I think the bangs are happening! My hair appointment is next Friday so stay tuned.
Buying… a breakfast sandwich maker! I was talking to my dietician a few appointments ago about my penchant for sausage egg McMuffins from McDonalds and we were working through all the steps required to make a breakfast sandwich at home… and that’s when I remembered the genius of a breakfast sandwich maker! The story behind this particular one starts years and years ago when Bri and I were working at the same company, and she was gifted this breakfast sandwich maker in a White Elephant gift exchange. She loved it so much that she bought a second one for the office! It makes it so easy to make a delicious breakfast sandwich in the morning, and I have very much been enjoying my new gadget.
Grateful… to myself for pushing to have a sleep study done. I had to ask for this sleep study and, at first, my doctor seemed a little apprehensive about putting in the order. I don’t think it came from a bad place; I think she knew that most health insurances needed a stronger reason to approve a sleep study other than snoring. So she asked me a lot of questions about why I wanted it done, and it made me start to question if I even needed it. But my thought was to get the sleep study done and see what the results were. Hopefully, they would come back negative for sleep apnea. Of course, we know now that’s not what happened. I was diagnosed with a severe case of sleep apnea, and it made me even more grateful to myself for pushing for this sleep study. You really do have to be your own advocate sometimes!
What are you currently watching and anticipating?
What a fun day! I’m a sucker for a ferry boat and an island…and a beach. I bet that if I lived close to one I wouldn’t go as often as I think I would.
Ha, you just reminded me that I saw the first episode of Mr. & Mrs. Smith last week…and I totally forgot about it until now. It was good, it was just that I didn’t have a lot of TV watching time this weekend.
I”ve never been to NoLa and I want to go. Chicago is always a good time, especially when you’ve meeting a Cool Blogger.
It was very cool taking the ferry over to the secluded beach – I liked that it was a lot calmer and not filled with screaming kids! Ha.
Your adventure with Bri sounds super fun. Walking is the sand is a very good workout so don’t beat yourself up too much!! You are making the steps to improve your heart health so try to focus on that instead of berating yourself! Sending you hugs!
We just finished a Yogi Berra documentary on Netflix. It’s 90 minutes but took us 3 nights to watch it. So maybe to get yourself to watch something longer, tell yourself you only need to watch 30 minutes. I am very disciplined about going up to bed at 8:30 and Paul goes to bed at 8 so that really only gives us 30 minutes to watch something. I don’t love having to stop in the middle or something or 1/3 through but so be it. Now we are starting the newest season of Fargo. We’ve watched other seasons and liked some and didn’t like others. We were compelled to watch this because Jon Hamm is in it and Phil loves him. I mean who doesn’t? He’s so handsome!
I’m anticipating a little break from travel. I have my 3rd week of work travel in a row, which immediately followed my trip to Destin so I am burned the F out on flying/airports/suitcases/etc. I might only have 1 more trip between now and mid-July which will be wonderful. We’ll see if that happens.
I love Jon Hamm. I got halfway through Mad Men when I stopped watching it for some reason (I don’t even remember why!) and now I want to start from the beginning just to get a Jon Hamm fix, ha.
I REALLY HOPE YOU DON’T GET ANY MORE TRAVEL SCHEDULED UNTIL MID-JULY! And yes, I’m shouting this into the universe. You need a BREAK, girl. This is too much travel. <3
I love bangs but because of my hair type – frizzy and wavy – they are THE WORST. I get major bang envy but simply can’t allow myself to do it again!
You really do have to know if you have the right hairstyle for bangs! It can be a very bad decision for some people, haha.
Your summer plans sound so fun and varied!
BANGS. I am probably a good candidate for bangs because I have a five-head (TM Tyra Banks), but the upkeep and styling make me WAY too nervous to ever try. I think you look fantastic with bangs, though, and you definitely know what you’re getting into.
The styling and upkeep are what’s really making me nervous to go back to bangs. They can be SO MUCH WORK, and mine have to be shampooed every day because I wake up with them all over the place. But I like the way I look with them! So I’ll probably do it.
Oh, what a fun beach day! I love that you both explored AND took time to chill – great balance. I have never been to NOLA, but I have dreams (ever since Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil came out while I was in HS, haha!).
I am hoping to start Dead Boy Detectives on Netflix this week, but we will see if I get any time for that. In terms of anticipating – I am trying to figure out when my Q2 personal wellness day will be and what I will do (I just need a day off and away from my lists!).
I should read Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil before I leave! Or maybe start it during my flight to NOLA?! Hmm… you’ve got me thinking!
Your beach day sounds lovely! I’m glad it was a good experience. Going to the beach IS a lot of work. Even when we do it in Iowa (sand bars, technically) there is so much to coordinate and bring and set up then tear down.
Your loathing section made me think a lot of things, especially about my own journey. But all I am going to say is your feelings are valid and at the same time, you’re an amazing and beautiful person, no matter how your body feels <3
I am so so excited for you to come AND MEET THE KITTIES! We will go over this again, but Apollo and Starbuck will be curious and probably approach you at the door. Ned and Khali will take a while but can be bribed 😉
I am excited to see what you decide with your hair!
We are currently watching Fallout but I am not really digging it. LOL. I am anticipating my marathon next month!
We know quite a few people who have those breakfast sandwich makers and LOVE them!
Thank you so much, Kim. I needed to hear that! <3
OMG, I am just BESIDE MYSELF thinking about meeting your cats. They're like celebrities to me! I will do any and all bribing for Ned and Khali. 🙂
Wow! You had the words “fun” and “beach” in the same sentence! It does look really cool. I’m assuming Egmont Key must be near Tampa- maybe I can get there next time I’m in the area.
The breakfast sandwich maker looks like a genius solution to the breakfast sandwich situation. I’m actually wondering if my son would like one for his house at school…
My summer plans aren’t quite as exciting as yours. We have our annual trip to Waco in August, where we’ll be driving right past New Orleans. I can’t believe how many times I’ve driven PAST that city without actually going there! Well… you can tell me all about it.
To get to Egmont Key, you have to take a ferry from Fort De Soto, which is at the southernmost part of St. Petersburg. It’s probably like a 45-minute to an hour drive from Tampa? Fort De Soto itself is amazing and has a dog beach!
Watching…. Nothing! Need to find a show. I really liked “Baby Reindeer” on Netflix.
Anticipating… My birthday (shh, it’s tomorrow). It’s also a birthday of one of my students so we are going to celebrate together. T and I are going out on Friday night, then my sister friends are coming oer on Saturday for a *very small* party, and on Sunday is a massage and sauna time. 🙂
Happy belated birthday, friend! I hope you had a nice day – it sounds like you have a lot of fun weekend plans to celebrate your birthday so hooray for that!
This is so true! You really have to be your own advocate sometimes. I am so glad you pushed for the sleep study. The result is not what you wanted to hear, but it explains a lot and gives you a push to do something about it.
Your beach day with Bri sounds like so much fun. I am glad you got to go.
I am NOT a breakfast sandwich person at all, but I am excited for you for this new gadget. It’s great to be able to make sandwiches at home and know exactly what you put on it!
“But it’s still hard to realize how far I have to go.” I feel you on this… so much. I thought I adopted more healthy meals and definitely included more exercise in my day but the scale just goes up. So frustrating to be honest. I do feel better though… I guess small steps.
I did listen to the Beyonce album and I thought it was ok but dint really rock me.
Wow, a beach day! And I feel you on the losing-fitness thing. Sigh. For me, it’s been related to injuries and/or severe illness that lasts weeks, which means lower tolerance even for walking, so loss of endurance, and strength, and… yeah. I get you. But you’ll get it back -think of the progress you’ve made already!
No Beyonce or breakfast sandwiches here, sorry, but I hope you find a good album for May, and that the sandwich maker fulfills all your dreams. 😉