Category: Well-being

Run and Bike

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Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/5.6, 1/125 sec, ISO3200
 “Sunset Cycling” Cedar Park, 2020

Today I went for a lunchtime run, and immediately I could tell my legs were a bit tired and the muscles were stiff. From our house, whichever route I take is downhill so it’s a nice, gentle way to warm up and assess my physical (and mental) condition. Yesterday was a rest day so I wasn’t too worried about straining myself, however, I made a note to take it easy. I don’t want any injuries!

I’m reading the book The Pants of Perspective: One Woman’s 3,000 Kilometre Running Adventure through the Wilds of New Zealand by Anna McNuff and I kept thinking about what a bad-ass she is and how she dealt with physical down-days on her journey. Super-inspiring and motivating! That positive energy definitely helps with my mental state, and although my legs might still be tired, I don’t let that get me down.

I ended up running 3.43 miles, which I am pleased with, and my pace of 12:19 /mi wasn’t as slow as I expected. And besides, it was beautiful outside!

Not surprisingly, the run’s momentum carried with me into the evening and I went for a short evening bicycle ride around the neighborhood. I remembered to pack my camera and was rewarded with a really nice sunset. You know, it’s really nice having a cargo rack and panniers on my bike – I can get the mail, carry my phone and camera, and still have plenty of room to spare.

The ride was great and I saw lots of people out walking, running, and playing safely. Lots of waving too! Although we’re living in a pandemic situation right now, people seem to be keeping it together. I really like our neighborhood.😀

I hope you had a nice day!

Nice Bottle for Pens

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Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/4, 1/100 sec, ISO320
 “Meiji Yogurt” Cedar Park, 2020

I like the shape of the bottle, the lettering style, and the color. It only holds a few pens, which is great because I have way too many and I need to reduce/simplify my collection. A cleaner, less-cluttered desk makes me more productive so it’s a perfect pen-holder for me. Another item that sparks joy and is functional too. Win-win!

New Running Gear

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Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/5.6, 1/15 sec, ISO3200
 “Running Gear” Cedar Park, 2020

I’ve recently updated my running gear to include a few new items. Of course, running is pretty minimal to begin with, so there’s not a whole lot of things you need, but these items make running much more enjoyable.

First, I have started wearing my sunglasses consistently. No more squinting! This pair of HULISLEM UV/Polarized sunglasses are lightweight, comfortable, and inexpensive. My eye doctor recommended I wear UV sunglasses whenever I am outdoors and I am a believer!

Next, I started using Injinji toesocks for running. I noticed that my little toe on my right foot was rubbing a lot on the toe next to it, and thought I would give these toesocks a try since they were highly rated. Well, I can definitely recommend them! With the toes separated, the rubbing and numbness I experienced have been relieved. I have since bought a couple more pairs (which were on sale for about $8 a pair) and now I am set for a good long while. I’ve been using some socks I bought from Target for several years now, and they are still in good shape, so I will keep one pair as a backup, but get rid of the others.

Lastly, I bought a running belt to put my phone in. For years I would carry my phone in my hand, which I didn’t think was terrible, but after using the Tiffmoo running belt, I can’t believe I used to hold it! This running belt is stretchy and super slim so I can wear it under my shirt, and you wouldn’t even know I was wearing it. It holds my Moto G6 easily (without wallet case) in the main zippered pocket, and there are two additional pockets where you can probably put stuff like lip balm, band-aids, etc. I love this belt. Being hands-free is so great and I feel stupid that I carried my phone in my hand all these years! As a bonus, my chronic wrist pain is less since there isn’t that extra weight to contend with.

Anyways, I’m pretty sure I have my running gear dialed in. I still love my On Cloud Running Shoes, and my basic running/soccer shorts are fine, as are my synthetic running shirts. Now it’s just a matter of putting in the miles, which I enjoy. 😀

Home Cooking

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Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 19mm, f/4, 1/40 sec, ISO800
 “Making Pasta” Cedar Park, 2020

During the “Shelter In Place” life we are living because of the COVID-19 pandemic, almost everyone is cooking at home more. Today, Koa helped Mariko make pasta using the KitchenAid mixer pasta attachment. The noodles came out great, and were a nice change from dry pasta. I guess because we have gained back all the hours we normally spend on out-of-house activities that there is more focus and intentional effort given to the everyday tasks. Maybe it’s just because there are less tasks that we are available to us… I’m not sure, but I’ve seen it in other things too, like planting our seedlings, veggies, and herbs, house-cleaning, and getting outside for walking, running, or bicycling.

This may seem like a positive, and I think there are good habits being formed or reinforced, but also it’s been pretty hard on a lot of people whose livelihoods depend on people going out of the house. For instance, the restaurant businesses have been suffering and I feel so sorry for them. I guess we all just want life to return to normal so we can do things like socialize, go to movies, resume school classes, concerts, dine out, and go hiking/camping.

In the meantime, we’ll just cope at home – and homemade pasta can help with that. 😀

Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 19mm, f/2.8, 1/60 sec, ISO500
 “Pasta” Cedar Park, 2020

By the way, Lani also like when we make pasta because she’ll occasionally get lucky with a stray noodle.

Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 19mm, f/4, 1/35 sec, ISO800
 “Hoping” Cedar Park, 2020

I hope you had a nice day!

またね～

Massage Chair Redux

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Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 19mm, f/3.6, 1/30 sec, ISO6400
 “Relax and Rejuvenate” Cedar Park, 2020

こんばんは。

For over a year, our massage chair has languished in the room where we keep the kitty litter boxes. Therefore, I haven’t sat in the chair more than three or four times. It’s just not a good experience to be in the same room with those litter boxes, even when they have just been cleaned.

But today we consolidated the contents of two bookshelves in our home office to just a single bookshelf, sold the unused one, and moved the massage chair from the sunroom to the office. Now I also rearranged the lighting a bit, and now the massage chair is way more accessible and inviting. Yay for decluttering!

I hope you had a good day.

またね～