31 Days of Journaling: Days 20 thru 24

 

Hello everyone! The Unleashed One here. I know there are some people who do not celebrate Christmas so I hope that saying Happy Holidays covers most of them.

This week has been a whirlwind of a time, so for brevity, and because there are some other activities I have planned later on today, I'm going to take each day and focus on the top 5 "takeaways". 

Day 20

📌 My get up and go wants to stay in the bed during the winter months. I decided to wait until after work to go to the gym.

📌 It was at around noon that my brain asked my body if it really felt up to going to the gym in the afternoon ... on a Monday. I remembered I was just doing Shoulders, Biceps, and Triceps, and I've got weights.

📌 I'm halfway through the 30 day supply of Amberen. It's a medication that helps with perimenopausal symptoms. I'm not sure if it is helping with the bloating but I haven't had any night sweats.

📌 This is one of those times when I wish my period would show up already. The cravings are here. The slight overconsumption of said craving is here (this month it is Reese's Dipped Pretzels that I've mainly been able to find at Wawa). But the period is not. It will be just my luck if it pops up on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day.

📌 After not being able to get in touch with the recommendation Jazz gave me for my BDD, I had some downtime at work to do some research. I saved the links. I am hopeful because one of the places takes my insurance.

Day 21

📌 The struggle was real in figuring out what to wear. In the end, I decided to wear the long red shirt with the split with my fuzzy leggings with the skull design. It gave me an excuse to wear the silver skull jewelry ... wait, I've never needed an excuse to wear those.

📌 The weather was cold. The arthritis was acting a fool. It's expected. My joints always throb when the temperature gets below freezing. Yet I was determined to get to the gym today, even if it's on a Tuesday afternoon after work.

📌 I hope the Japanese place is nice. Jazz and I have never gone to it. Although it advertises hibachi, I'm unsure whether it will have all of the hibachi antics because of everything happening with the pandemic. Or whether it's reserved for dinner rather than lunch. Tomorrow, either way, it will be nice for Jazz to get a break from the routine of work, errands, and the house. I was glad the time-off got approved, even though I put it in at the last minute.

📌 I remembered to reach out to Dr. Dhillon about my refill on the injections and that they arrive on time with all of the holiday shipping happening. Worse case, I'll just do a brand new cycle.

📌 Jazz and I finally wrapped up looking at all of the previous Matrix movies ... to get our minds fresh heading into the new one. I am excited to see Keanu but honestly, didn't see the need or the zest to have a 4th Matrix. Not sure if I am in the minority or the majority who believed that the Matrix as a trilogy was perfection. 

Day 22

📌 I capitalized on rest, focused on doing my circuit at home. I did not want to be in too much pain leading up to the hibachi lunch.

📌 I was feeling good in my body today. I wasn't rocking my traditional look, but I loved how it all came together. Since I'm only going to have it on for a few hours, I'll probably turn around and wear it the next day.

📌 Jazz had the hibachi calamari. I had the chicken. Overall, the food was good. I was impressed by how well I did with picking up the chicken and the vegetables with the chopsticks. I wasn't so smooth with the rice.

📌 The location we went to in Bensalem was nice. However, the ambiance was ruined by the very loud people on the other side of the restaurant. Not just loud, like having a good time. Like, obnoxiously loud, to the point where we didn't even stay for dessert but just wanted to get away from the noise. 

📌 I had the strange craving for an Oreo blizzard. I haven't craved Dairy Queen in about a decade or so. The one in Bensalem was closed so we traveled to one in Hamilton. Funny enough, we had driven on that street before and didn't even notice one was on the corner. The lady was very kind and told us that she's going to be a grandma. Jazz had a medium-sized one; I had a small one. A calorie-dense indulgence but well worth savoring.

Day 23

📌 I opened up my e-mail to an announcement I predicted was coming. Due to the new virus variant, we have been placed back on a hybrid schedule. They say it is just for two weeks. Probably in the hopes that the majority of the outbreaks will have decreased by then. Honestly, I am happy we are going back to hybrid; I believed it was way too soon for all of us to be in the vicinity at the same time, especially with some people who are not vaccinated.

📌 On Monday, someone tested positive, but they didn't notify anyone until Wednesday. When I was at work today, we got word that someone tested positive. Every other day, since we've been back on-site full time, someone has tested positive.

📌 I am glad I didn't bring my lunch, since we got released early. I played catch-up with my work while avoiding the headlines that the latest Matrix was bad. I didn't look at any YouTube videos except for one guy who gave his reaction as he left the theater. He didn't provide any spoilers but did say it wasn't good. I did tell Jazz that I was tempted for us to give it a look on HBO Max, and if it even acted un-Matrix-like, I was going to cancel going on Christmas Eve.

📌 There weren't too many people in the gym, but I decided to train my chest and back today since I wanted to do a longer leg workout for Friday.

After I got changed from the gym and settled in, Jazz and I prayed to the creative gods that the magnificence of The Matrix would be held intact. 

Let's just say about forty-five minutes into the movie, I went on my AMC app and canceled my tickets. I am not providing any spoilers, but even Keanu giving it his all couldn't save it. It. Was. Just. Bad. Also, because of the way it ended, I predict there's going to be more, and this rendition I'm taking a hard pass on. Oh, well! There's always John Wick.

Day 24

📌 The serenity of being in the gym when there are little to no people. It's hard to describe ... one would just have to experience it. 

📌 I got back to the house, showered, and got changed. Other people had the same idea we did ... grocery shopping in the morning. Luckily, we were able to get everything we needed in one place and didn't have to go anywhere else.

📌 There was a discussion going back and forth between a lady in front of us and a lady behind us. The lady in front of us was fussing about the lack of lanes open (at that point, there were only 2, maybe 3), kept saying it was "poor management". The lady behind us countered, stating that "it's not always management. Maybe they were not as busy the previous year". The lady in the front wasn't convinced. Jazz finally said that it was a mess. I didn't say anything. I know that from the customer's standpoint, it always boils down to poor management. Since I've been the customer and management, I know that it's not that cut and dried. 

📌 This morning, I had something new ... protein eggnog pancakes. They came out rather fluffy and a bit sweet (but not in a bad way). I used even less syrup than I normally do and topped the pancakes with bananas. I definitely wouldn't mind having them again.

📌 My search for the fully fuzzy boot continues. The ones I got from Just Fab didn't have enough room in the toe, and the next size up was sold out 😞😞😞. Off to the land of returns it goes.

I won't be blogging tomorrow. Catch everyone on Sunday!

Deuces.

31 Days of Journaling: Days 16 & 17

 

Hello to all! The Unleashed One here. I hope most of your week has been going well. Just before I retire for the evening, I'd like to give you a recap of the events of yesterday (the 16th) and today (the 17th).

Day 16

I made the tough decision to return one of my beauty investments. I say investment because it is more than I would spend on items for my face. However, there were such wonderful reviews as to how effective it was for all types of skin. More importantly, it is targeted at people of color.

I first tried the product about a while back when I first noticed significant changes in my skin. Although I did not have a huge problem with acne my teenage years, I started experiencing lots of acne episodes. The dermatologist I was seeing chalked it up to a hormonal imbalance and put me on some prescription topical aides to assist. 

When there wasn't much improvement, the dermatologist suggested that I go with cleansers and moisturizers that were simple, so they wouldn't counteract with the topical medications. Once my skin had adapted, then she told me I could start adding other products.

During the spring and summer, I had a skincare system that worked rather well but lost its effectiveness once the temperatures got cooler.

I'm not sure if other people have this struggle. During the spring and summer, my face is more of a combination/oily mix, so too much moisture is the enemy. In the fall and winter, my face becomes more of a combination/dry mix, so it seeks moisture to protect it from the elements.

It is annoying because I have not found a regimen so far that works for me through the entire season. 

Once I ran out of my spring/summer routine, I decided to wait until my previous beauty investment was on sale. During the holiday season, it did, so I went ahead and purchased the cleanser, toner, and night cream.

Within a week of using the product, I noticed that the acne was returning. I wanted to do research to see if any other people had experienced more breakouts and irritation with the skin while using the product. I didn't see anything on their website, so I went to YouTube to see if anyone had done reviews on the line of products I was using.

As luck would have it, there were individuals that were having the same problems due to a type of acid in the product that is too harsh for sensitive skin.

I checked their website to see if I was eligible to get a refund. Turns out I would be, if I get the items back to them within 30 days.

I am not going to divulge the name of the company because I may be in the minority where the products' ingredients impact my skin negatively. It just sucks because now, I have to figure out what is going to be the perfect fall/winter line to go with. At this rate, I may have to go back to what I used to use growing up: Noxzema.

I didn't go to the gym but did do some of my workout routine at the house using my barbell and dumbbells. I am continuing to do the sets on the Total Gym in solidarity with Jazz's 30-day challenge.

Although the argyle sweater and houndstooth trousers from Shein were a fail, the stuff I received from them yesterday was a success. I am excited about the rainbow sweater; I just have to figure out what day I'm going to wear it. Maybe one day next week. There was also another sweater I got. The design is a departure from what I'm drawn to, but it works well with the pants I purchased to match. I'm definitely going to wear that this coming Wednesday.

The leg warmers are cute. They aren't as thick as they looked in the picture, but you can only expect so much for less than five bucks, I suppose. 

I've decided to utilize sleep for some recovery and go to the gym after work as opposed to before work on Friday.

Until the next day.

Ta-ta.

lol ... I have clothes on under here, I promise

Day 17

It's Friday ... or as many would say, Fri-yay! Since it's casual Friday, I tend to ditch the makeup. I packed my gym clothes, which included a pair of my new yellow legwarmers. I didn't feel like switching shoes so I decided to wear my gym shoes. I find that on leg day, I prefer to wear my weightlifting shoes. I purchased them some time ago on Amazon. 

Time flew by at work, which I'm always happy about. I received some looks after I changed into my workout attire. It's not like I was in it all day. Plus, I find it easier to change just before I get to the gym because I can start my workout quicker.

It was less crowded this afternoon. I could pace myself easier. In addition, since I went heavier with weight earlier in the week with my leg day, I dialed it down some, since I haven't fully recovered. As I mentioned before, it's one of the downsides to not having a rest day until the weekend.

Once I got to the house, there were two packages waiting on me. One of those packages was from Fabletics. When I dealt with them years ago, I believe it was at the very start of my fitness journey, they didn't have too many styles that have the big external pockets I like, which was why I was drawn to Pop Fit. What has prompted me to give Fabletics another try? Here are some of my reasons:

(1) There's nothing on Pop Fit that attracts my attention anymore. To me, most of their styles look the same, or they've come out with new designs.

(2) The leggings, even the ones closest to my size, are starting to do the slip thing. I could wash them in hot water to shrink them, but at this point, I have too many of them to go through the effort.

(3) None of the Pop Fit leggings have a lining that keeps my legs warm in the cooler weather. It gets tiresome and time-consuming for me to double layer.

(4) Fabletics now has more variety, including the external pockets that I like.

I ordered two pairs of leggings, two pairs of socks, and two bras, just to see if they will fit me. One bra fit fine in the band but too tight in the cups. The other fit fine in the cups but too loose in the band. To be fair, one I ordered in the small (which was the one that was spot on with the band). The other I ordered was in the medium (which was comfortable in the cups). The one in the small was too uncomfortable for me to put on. It wasn't the kind you fasten; it's the one you have to pull over your head, which I'm not accustomed to. I kept being afraid that I was going to get stuck in mid-try-on. 

One pair of leggings is arriving separately, but the one pair that did come fit well. On top of that, they were lined and in a color I don't own, so I will be keeping them and the pairs of socks. I may see if I can get the medium bra sized down to a small in the more comfortable bra. The not-so-comfy bra is getting returned.

The yawns have begun. Time to shut this down.

Good night all!