UP week 14

I did it folks, for the first time in at least a year, I made exercise a daily priority. I joined plenty of Fitbit challenges to keep me motivated on the steps side and I got on the treadmill Every. Single. Day. The first few days were ROUGH. My feet were killing me, burning and tingling for a while afterwards. The following few days is when I started showing signs of chaffing, my thighs rubbing together when I walk and imagine how bad it got while speed walking 😳. Also, I've mentioned this in the past, the under-boob situation, its not pretty. Yesterday was the first treadmill work out where it all felt worth it. I had a plethora of energy and I even stayed on for an additional 30 minutes to walk for the sake of walking. I wish the scale showed my efforts though. I am up this week, 208.2lbs. Not what I expected and I recognize this scene all too well; this is usually the point when I say f*ck it and give up. NOT THIS TIME 💪 I'm going to do the complete opposite of give up, I'm going to try harder and keep this momentum because aside from the scale (and the chaffing) I had positive results like feeling more energized, better sleep and considerably more focused.

Onto the other parts of my week. We had our in-home interview with the exchange student coordinator. She was very kind and answered all of our questions. We have chosen a female student from Spain. We have completed all the steps on our end, now Heather (the coordinator) will reach out to our references this coming week (you know who you are, and thank you!) and then we wait till May to find a placement at a high school for Fall of 2023 🥰 My only regret was joking with Heather about the incomplete renovations like baseboards and door trim around the laundry room. I asked Heather if she could do me a favor and tell Kev that it ALL needs to be done before our student arrives and in saying that I signaled to the ceiling where we need to paint around a light fixture and a massive cobweb hung less than an inch from Heather's head 🤦🏻‍♀️ I think we still passed inspection 😅 Earlier this week I had another out-of-the-box idea and as always, I check with Kevin first. I like to get his thoughts because I can gage based on his reaction if I am really losing my marbles. So when Kevin called me after leaving one of his jobs mid-afternoon on Friday, I told him I wanted to write a letter to someone in prison. Funniest thing happened, Kevin wasn't surprised 😂. Here's how it all went down... during the workday, since I am self-employed and I can essentially work as I please, I usually have something streaming in the background as I work. I use my cell phone on my desk as a TV and my paperclip bin as my TV stand. Sometimes its reruns of How I Met Your Mother, sometimes its Married At First Sight, this week it's Netflix's true crime show I am a Killer. After many episodes with quite a few stories that made me feel some type of way for the prisoners that go years and years without outside contact, I found a website that allows you to view profiles of prisoners who sign up to have a penpal. I know all the concerns and I spent waaayyyy too much time trying to figure out what I was doing and WHY I was doing it. I told Kevin my fears and concerns, especially since I might be fooling myself, wearing my rose colored glasses while opening doors that I may not want to walk through. Here's what my husband said to me, 'I know why you want to do this, you are an empathetic person who wants to believe that people are inherently good'. And he's right. So here is what I did. I looked at a few profiles and I immediately got turned off with anyone who would be released or if I read their crime and I felt in my gut that I wouldn't be comfortable to have a friendship with them. I noticed a tab at the top of the web page that said 'Inmates Not Receiving Mail'. This particular section had 22 pages of profiles where no one has ever written to these people. I went to the 22nd page and found the profile of a man who was incarcerated when I was 2 years old. I calculated based on his age today (61) that he committed his crime (murder) when he was 25 or 26. He was sentenced to life in prison and is currently in a California State Facility. So I sent him a letter. I asked how he was doing, I let him know that he will only get kind words, positive thoughts and prayers from me. That I am a happily married woman and if he would like to write me back, he is welcome to and if this is the first and last time that we interact, I wish him hope and peace. I have no idea if I will hear from him but it felt good to do something kind and open my world a little bit. I hope I don't regret the risk but on the flip side, if my instincts count for anything, it felt right. I was nervous and anxious when I was writing the letter (2500 letters maximum which is very difficult for me!) and once it was sent, it just felt good. I will definitely report back if Mr. Young replies to me. 2023 is shaping up to be quite the year for broadening our horizons, I say we because Kevin is stuck with me and my crazy ideas 🤪

To Kevin,

I may not be able to surprise you anymore but I promise,

this marriage will never be considered boring -

You're Welcome

-Mel