Poke in the Arm

Just got my second COVID vaccine shot. Yay! It feels so good to have it. 

Right now feels like there might be a light at the end of the tunnel. I sure hope so. 

Cedar City

Had a fun little trip to southern Utah last week. It was really nice to get out. LOL It snowed on us Thursday and Friday. That’s Utah in April for you. Sometimes 4 seasons in 1 day. We did have to switch the day we went to Bryce but other than that, the snow didn’t bother us. I was really glad I packed my winter coat at the last minute though. I definitely used it. 

We stayed in Cedar City and then just drove a few places. I’m definitely going to try and get back down there for the Shakespeare festival this summer. I’m itching to get back to the theater and they are back on this year.

We did a quick little hike to Mossy Cave. It's too late to see the icicles hanging from the top of the cave, but still was fun to see the melting ice and tiny bit of moss. 

I don't think I'd ever get tired of this view at Bryce Canyon. It was cold, but worth it. 

The weather couldn't decide what it was doing. Sunshine and clouds. Sometimes rain or snow.

Found out about the Parowan Gap petroglyphs by the internet and it was a short drive and kind of fun to see. 

I need to remind myself not to have my mom take pictures, but I actually loved this drive in the snow. It wasn't coming down enough to make the roads a mess and ended up being just a really pretty drive over the pass from 89 to Cedar City. 

A Business Proposal

Since I started down the road of web comics full time last year, I have probably spent between $150.00 -$200.00 on “money” for episodes. I started on Webtoons where I still read the most. Then, after debating with myself for a while, I decided to start using Tapas. And recently, I subscribed to Manta comics after getting sucked into one of theirs. I mean, I could read the free stuff or wait for free episodes but I don’t want to. I’m not worried about the money and I feel like it’s going to support the creators that I’ve really enjoyed. I am still deep down the rabbit hole with web comics and have no plans to come out. There are just so many stories that I’ve loved so much so they’re basically like books in that regard. In fact, I really wish some of them could be published traditionally so I could have a physical copy. I even joined Patreon so I could support some of my favorites. I spend less than $10.00 a month on Patreon so it’s not much at all but it’s something.

 

I just finished A Business Proposal on Tapas and I have to say it might have beat Midnight Poppy Land for #1 favorite. I’m calling it a tie for now. If MLP were not on hiatus, it’s possible it would still be ahead. A Business Proposal is finished and I absolutely love that I have a complete story to re-read. And I have definitely been re-reading it. It is a rom com that made me laugh out loud and just feel good. A girl goes on a blind date for a friend and pretends to be a femme fatale to get rid of him. Unfortunately for her, he’s decided to marry the blind date to get his grandfather off his back and he’s also the CEO of her company. Hijinks ensue. The comedy reminds me so much of silly comedy in old movies like The Glass Bottom Boat. The misunderstandings get cleared up before too many episodes and there’s not a ton of extra drama. Ha-ri, the main female character is funny, but she’s also smart and has a lot going for her. Taemu, the main male character is the good looking, rich boss. The thing I love the most about their relationship is that he’s all in from the beginning. He doesn’t even question why. And while it may seem like he has the upper hand, she really does have him wrapped around her little finger even if she doesn’t realize it. Besides the story, the art is fantastic. I don’t always love when web comics use the chibi style, even for comedic relief, but it is so funny here. There’s a lot of understated humor that just gets me. Anyway, A Business Proposal has joined MPL on the list of favorites and it will most definitely show up on my "best of" list for 2021. 

Hello April

I'm working from home today because of an early meeting so I'm sitting in my chair looking out the window, watching it snow. Yes, it's snowing. I actually love snow in April. For one thing, you know it will be gone soon after it stops. But also, it's so pretty. The grass is green and there are green buds on the trees and white flakes floating in the air.  It's not coming down in buckets, just lightly snowing and making the everything wet. We had a beautiful, sunny weekend and now we have have a beautiful, wet weekday. I love it!

Easter Weekend 2021

Easter weekend was great. I had Friday off work because my company gives Good Friday as a paid holiday. My mom and sister took some of my nieces and nephews to the duck pond. The kids had a blast. We had a picnic on the grass and then walked around the pond. I had some bread and we threw it to the ducks. It’s funny how when you feed 1 or 2 they all come over. 

Saturday and Sunday were both spend mostly with family and listening to General Conference. What you can hear anyway with family. Ha ha...I’m probably going to have to listen to a couple sessions over again but I still have some puzzles I haven’t done so that would be a good thing to do together. It was a beautiful spring weekend.

Taking Care of the Crazy

I’m almost afraid to say anything for fear I’ll jinx myself, but I’ve been getting regular exercise for the past 4 months and I feel so good. I don’t plan on stopping. Thinking about my life, I’ve only ever had pockets of exercise. I’ve done really well for a period of time and then stopped. Like my friend and I used to go run at the track at the high school (ha ha ok it was walk/run stuff), I completed 12 weeks of the PiYo program and actually saw results, I walked and hiked a ton to get ready for the trek to Machu Picchu. Then for whatever reason, I stopped. I live in a great place to walk so I always got some exercise, but not regular or consistent.

Last November I think the pandemic finally got to me. I couldn’t deal with the stress and sleepless nights any more. The anxiety was killing me. So I dug out my old DVDs of Leslie Sansone’s Walk at Home program and started walking at home. They aren’t hard and I do sweat but they aren’t super sweat inducers or super high intensity. For the first time in my life I didn’t start exercising to lose weight. I did it to get rid of the crazy. And you know what? My anxiety dropped almost overnight. My sleepless nights took a bit longer to get rid of and sometimes I still have problems falling asleep, which honestly, could just be because of age. I feel so much better. It hasn’t been perfect and there are days when I just don’t care but one bad day doesn’t make a bad week. I started where I was and didn’t make any demands on myself except that I try because it was helping with the anxiety. Now I actually signed up for Walk at Home streaming to my tv and one other program to my iPad. With spring coming, I’ve even gotten outside to walk a few times. I still don’t really love exercise and I’m probably never going to be an early morning exerciser and I’m letting myself be ok with that. What I do love is that I feel better and I’m dealing with my anxiety in a healthy way. 

Friday Thoughts about Work

As much as I enjoy travel, I am truly a homebody and do love being at home. You’d think that would have made me happy during the pandemic, but then I discovered I am not a person that loves working from home. I kind of already knew I wouldn’t like it because I do need something to get me out of the house so I don’t feel like a hermit and I like the routine. I never got told I had to stay home, plus, in my job as HR for a manufacturing company, it was better to be where the people were. 

Now, with my new job I don’t actually live or work in the same state as my team so I’m truly remote. I get to go into the office or not as I choose. At first working from home was not enjoyable to me. I had a hard time separating work from home. As I’ve gotten used to it, I’ve found that there are some definite advantages and things I do actually enjoy. One is the very short commute time: walk down the hall. I also like that I can get up and exercise without actually getting up earlier. Again, thanks to that short commute. And then there’s the flexibility I have to take a lunch break whenever I want and run errands in the actual town I live in. Yesterday, I took a late lunch and went for a walk to enjoy the spring weather and sunshine. It was glorious. I can take breaks to walk at work, but it’s not really the same. 

Anyway, things in my state are slowly opening back up. About half the office is back to working in the office most days. I’ve no idea when everybody will come back or what they will do if people want to stay home (ha ha…not my problem any more). Since I don’t actually report to anyone where I physically work, my new job will allow a hybrid schedule and I’m seriously considering it. I just keep thinking how this summer I would be able to walk outside in the morning (when it’s light and cool) before work and still start working on time if I worked from home. I don’t want to do it all week, just maybe 2 days. If I do end up permanently with a bit of both, I’d like to get a new chair. My desk is fine, but the current chair has got to go.