The high of my week was my weekly HIIT class! My mom and I started going to a Wednesday evening HIIT class three weeks ago. The first time we went was a shock to our system because it was so tough, but we also loved how hard it was and we really, really loved the instructor. He’s funny and helpful and helps us find ways to modify some of the exercises because we definitely need some of them scaled down a bit for our fitness level. There are 8 stations and you run through the exercises at each station three times with a break in between each round. My goal for Wednesday’s class was to get through the first round without stopping, which I was able to do! This is a massive win for me, as some of those exercises are brutal (especially anything involving cardio, oof). It’ll be fun to see our progress as our fitness levels increase and we can do more of the circuits without needing modifications!
The low of my week was my terrible night of sleep due to my sleep study. I am planning on writing a post about the at-home sleep study I did this week (if you have any questions for me about it, let me know!), but let me tell you, I’m a little worried that they won’t have enough sleep data and I’ll have to do it again because I slept terribly. (I had to wear a nasal cannula, a sensor strapped around my chest, and a pulse ox on my finger, which obviously made sleeping really awkward.) I don’t even know if I logged 6 proper hours of sleep (which is the minimum amount of sleep needed for the data).
One nagging task I marked off my to-do list was filling in the first section of the “I’m Dead, Now What?” workbook. It was an easy section – just filling out personal information like my name, where I was born, my family, etc. However, I realized two things after filling it out: 1) I have no idea where my social security card is and 2) I need to create a living will. What else will I learn I need to do to get my affairs in order as I go through this workbook? Stay tuned!
I’m currently reading two books. I’m reading The Comeback by Lily Chu and loving it. It’s so cute! And on audio, I’m listening to The Longest Race by Kara Goucher, which is also excellent. It’s been a good week of reading, for sure.
A blog post I loved was Day in the Life on Kyria’s blog. She’s currently on a massive adventure—she quit her job, sold her home, and is currently biking around the U.S. and Canada! So she took us along on one of those days in her life, and it was fascinating!
The best money I spent was $2.50 on a bottle of water at the gym after leaving my water bottle at home. I was halfway to the gym when I realized I was hydration-less. I’m really glad they have cold water (and sports drinks) available for purchase at my gym—you just grab a drink and then they scan your gym card to pay for it, which is nice! I was there to do a hot yoga class, so I really needed water!
My plans this weekend include an art festival with my mom on Saturday afternoon and dinner with some friends on Saturday night. And that’s the extent of my plans, which I am very happy about. I can have a low-key Friday night in, a busy Saturday, and then a productive Sunday at home. Perfect!
What was the high of your week?
Oh no! The sleep study night sounds awful! I’m sorry it went so poorly.
Yay for making progress on the estate planning stuff. It’s such a relief to tackle that kind of thing, even if the DOING is unpleasant.
Your weekend sounds very balanced. I look forward to hearing about the art festival!
It was such a bad night of sleep! But at least I was at home? Doing it at a sleep lab would have been so weird!
It’s very odd to think about my demise, re: estate planning, but it’s gotta get done!
A HIIT class! Stephany! That’s so great – and so hard!!! Good for you – and then a hot yoga class, my girl you are just amazing. Between that and estate planning, well, colour me impressed.
I have a couple of friends who have had to do sleep studies and they sound absolutely dreadful. Hopefully they got all the data they need.
The high of the week was planting my berry patch! Tomorrow I’m planting veggie seeds and then Sunday IS MY BIRTHDAY! Also I saw a lilac bush in bloom yesterday, which is pretty incredible to this Calgary girl (Calgary is totally snow covered and was like 2 degrees this week).
The HIIT class is so hard! Thankfully, the instructor is super encouraging and gives us great modifications that are really helpful. But I do feel like I’m going to die while I’m in the class, haha.
I hope you had a lovely birthday with all your favorite people!
I’m so impressed with the hot yoga and HIIT class! You and your mom are #goals, for sure. I hope you have an amazing weekend, the perfect blend of quiet and fun.
Also, good for you on the estate planning at such a young age. I listened to a radio show today (KQED Forum if you’re interested) about a Death Douala, and she was talking about her job of helping people at their end of life, and sometimes when they are young and healthy. When they are young and healthy, it is to help them decide what they want death to look like. Do they want it to be everyone they know and love with them, or only a limited few? Do they want it to be outside in nature if possible? My step-mom’s partner of 2 1/2 years died in October, and they had a Death Douala and she found it really helpful. Needless to say, it has me thinking about things a bit beyond ‘who gets my grandma’s wedding ring when I die’ kind of stuff.
My grandfather died in October 2018 and there were so many things left unfinished, and it made things really difficult for my mom who was the executor. There were 8 people in the will, and three of them lived out-of-state so getting forms filled out was SUCH a hassle. It made me realize that a) my mom NEEDS to get her stuff in order so my brother and I don’t have to deal with that and b) I need to get MY STUFF in order so I’m not leaving my people hanging. It’s a really fraught process!
Girl! I am so excited to hear about that HIIT class. Wow. HIIT is hard but I love that you didn’t hate it, in fact, were excited about the challenge. Can’t wait to hear more about how you progress.
And I am sorry about the sleep study – it does sound awful to sleep with all the contraptions. I hope they got enough data to work with so you don’t have to do it again.
It really helps that the trainer is so encouraging and motivating! We keep going back to a specific class because he’s been amazing. About halfway through the class, I regret my decision to go (ha) but I’m always happy I went by the end of it!
Boo to not being able to sleep for your sleep study! I’ve got my fingers crossed that there is enough data so that you don’t have to repeat it.
Bravo to getting the $2.50 bottle of water! I have a cheap streak so I always hesitate at buying the “thing that I can get for free that I don’t have right now so it will cost a few dollars” but the truth is that it’s worth a few bucks to not be thirsty.
It was definitely worth the $2.50 for that bottle of water during hot yoga. (And I forgot my water bottle AGAIN this week, so ugh, that’s $5 already for freaking water.) I need to just keep an empty water bottle in my car for times like that.
HIIT?? Wonderful. I would not do it because I heard it is super hard! I’m a chicken when it comes to discomfort.
Sleep study, ooffffff. That sounds hard. Would be interested to reading more about it. I would NOT have fallen asleep with all that stuff on me :/
Your weekend sounds lovely. We had activities for the kids in the morning, the L and I got manicures and pedicures on a whim, then tonight is my friend Barb’s birthday dinner. Tomorrow is completely open!
I am a chicken about discomfort, too! I hear you, 100%. I don’t make it through every round without pausing, so I’m working on that part!
High of my week? Dozing in bed all afternoon today. I was feeling so tired and rundown and didn’t want to do ANYTHING after a busy week. So that’s exactly what I’ve done 🙂
Great work on the HIIT workout! They’re so effective and I need to start incorporating them again.
YES to a lazy day in bed. I love that you gave yourself the gift of rest. It sounds like you really needed it!
Yay for a great HIIT class, boo for a terrible night of sleep!! That sounds just awful!!
The high of my week was seeing so much family at my grandma’s funeral yesterday. We were gathering for a sobering reason but there was levity in being together to celebrate an amazing women. I saw all of my siblings at the same time for the first time since 2020 but we did not get a picture. 🙁
I’m glad you were able to see all of your siblings. That’s crazy that it’s been 4 years since everyone was together but I imagine it’s hard to get everyone together with differing schedules/stages of life. <3
Tell me more about that sleep study.
I convinced my neurologist that we need to look at my sleep more closely and she transferred me to the sleep specialist. I am hoping to get a sleep study done. But reading you need to have a minimum of 6 hours is laughable since I rarely manage to sleep more than six hours. Oh well we’ll see. First I need an appointment and that may take forever.
HIIT sounds hard but congrats on making it through.
Oh no – I’m sorry that even getting six hours of sleep is a struggle for you! It may be different if you do the sleep study in a lab rather than at home?! IDK. Good luck!
The scene in The Comeback when she’s singing Paradise City in her kitchen is the most relatable scene I’ve ever read in a book, hands down. Brilliant, Lily Chu, brilliant.
I love a good fitness class that pushes me harder than I would normally go, but I leave feeling awesome. Go you! (Also, HIIT is HARD!)
HA – I had so much secondhand embarrassment during that scene! And those scenes always seem to end with someone else stumbling in on them dancing around like a maniac… which this one did as well. Ack!
So many good things here, my friend. I’m amazed you made it through HIIT and you’ve done hot yoga. You’re a stronger woman than I am, that’s for sure. (I did hot yoga a few times and nearly perspired to death… it was not pretty.)
I may have to check out that Comeback book, given that both you and Engie recommend it… And I hope that the sleep study data were usable, but… I think I remember seeing on IG that you need to repeat it. So if that’s the case, I’m sorry. 🙁
Hope things are continuing on a positive trajectory these past few weeks. <3