1.11

In Israel (and many other countries) when writing out the date, they write the day first and then the month. I kind of like it... the 1st day of a new month is emphasized a little bit more.

A few weeks ago, I started a running list of things I want to work on in November. The list is random and ranges from topics like 'wear my retainer to bed each night' and 'find ways that I can use more natural products versus chemicals.'

I've also had this recurring voice in my head whispering that I need to find ways to start curbing my social media/phone time.

Here goes Kait writing another goal-setting post.

Naw, not quite.

I actually don't remember the last time that I wrote a first of the month post. And it hasn't been the lack of time that's made my writing more sporadic, or not having topics to write about. I told myself that when we moved to Israel last summer and I started writing again that I would write for myself, when I wanted to and about whatever I wanted to.

Yet I find myself hesitant to write about certain things, share thoughts, or even share blog posts at all once they're published. I can almost feel people reading this and rolling their eyes. And I'm kind of over tip-toeing around my posts, because honestly half of it them turn out to be horseshit, excuse my French.

I love social media from the aspect that I can see pictures of my friends/family, have interesting articles shared with me, stay easily connected, etc. But as this year has gone on, I've started to find that social media also brings me a good amount of anxiety and irritation.

And I get it, there's always going to be someone who disagrees with you or see things differently, there's always going to be someone who is somehow offended by something. But what makes it a little bit worse with social media is that people can hide behind their keyboards and be extra mean.


This post is already longer than I wanted it to be.


I'm retiring my blog. It doesn't feel relevant anymore, I'm not maximizing my time with it. I've sat on it for awhile and would rather write on the website Medium instead. The platform is clean, it's for writers, and I can choose to very simply write on topics and share - or not share at all.

(I also have the upcoming privilege of helping to run a soon to-be-launched blog with the company I work for, so I'll transition to considering that 'my baby', as all new blogs need love and nurturing.)

I've sat here with my hands on the keyboard for a few minutes now, not sure how to end the post. I found myself thinking this morning, "is the world getting shittier, or are we just overexposed to every single detail of what's going on?" I don't know, I don't have the answers and I'm not sure how to get back to finding joy through social media instead of pissy-ness, for lack of a better word.

However as a sidenote I did thoroughly enjoy all of the baby and pet Halloween pics yesterday.

So to start knocking November goals off my list this very first morning, I'm signing off good ole' Blogger. The platform is pretty outdated and crappy to be honest. If you haven't heard of Medium, check it out here.

Two months left of 2017 my friends. Make goals, be aspirational, do good things. Love someone well today. Don't just resign to the upcoming holidays and accept that you're going into hibernation and likely to put on a few lbs. That's way too easy.

Do something hard.

Cheers - 

Kait

Fall Cleaning

Over the past year, I forgot the joy that can come with waking up with the sun. Since moving to Israel, we have shifted our habits towards getting up a little later, staying up a little later, mostly because that seems to be more of the norm here.

Yet the past few weeks have been busy (when we've been in Tel Aviv, that is) and alarms before 6 am have started to be set again. And while it’s not like I pop out of bed energized and ready to go, when I actually am out of bed, I’m glad that I am.

I kind of like shuffling around in the haze of the morning, needing some lamp light as I take a few minutes in the morning to write. My coffee seems to be more of a warm friend than just a morning staple, and even the dogs don't want to be up yet.

Anyways. Onto the topic at hand. This past weekend Andrew and I took some time to do some fall cleaning/planning. And it was great - and since it's that time of year when we could all potentially use a little motivation pre-holidays, I thought I would share some thoughts.

Now, I've always found planning/organizing to be riveting, I love that shit. But if you personally feel on point with setting goals, staying organized, etc. - or you feel like this post might put you to sleep - then go ahead and click away now. No hurt feelings.

I love goals, always have always will. Yet to be super upfront, I'm not very good at actually following through on those goals.

Why is that, Kait?  

Well recently I realized that you can't just set goals. You can't just write them up on a board, and be like OK I WILL NOW MAGICALLY LEARN HEBREW this month. Doesn't happen that easily - at least not for me. 

(I've been saying since we moved here that I will actively teach myself Hebrew via apps, podcasts, etc. Not like conversational Hebrew, but words and phrases - which I have organically been learning some over the past year. However, three times now I have set the goal to 'practice Hebrew' and three times, I hardly practiced Hebrew.)

Enter: Systems. Systems - or methods - are the plan that you put in place to actually stay on track.

As a disclaimer, none of what I'm writing are my original ideas - and if you want to read more about where I first read about it, here you go.

I see systems as the game plan that you go back to; where you check things off.

More on that in a minute.

I am lucky enough to work for someone who is HUGE on self-development, reading new ways of doing things, you name it. He's constantly throwing articles at me, book suggestions, etc. As an English major, I'm a sad excuse for a book reader. However last month knowing that we had two back to back trips coming up, Andrew and I ordered a few of the books that he recommended to have for our plane time.

I won't sit here and list out the books and give full-on reviews. But what I will do is tell you a few things we did the past week or so - systems we have set up - that we feel have really put us on track.

1. We 'fall cleaned'. This was mostly just my idea, the apartment needed a deep cleaning, and in the process we threw out a bunch of stuff we didn't need. It's rejuvenating, and something that I now believe should be done with every season - because honestly it's just good for your soul.

2. Make a system.  I have a variety of goals and improvements I want to make in my life the last few months of this year (and into 2018). Here is what I have in place for October:

super high-tech, I know

And it's working. Why? Because the empty boxes are there, screaming my name. It's the reason I currently have the numbers 5 6 and 7 written on my hand in Hebrew, so that I learn how to say them today.

3. (This is so mature I can't believe I'm about to type this) Do a check of your finances. Where do you stand, do you have goals in place - and do you have SYSTEMS to make sure you're following up on those goals?

That sounds super boring I know, I was REALLY resistant with Andrew about it for a long time. But we both read one book in particular (if you want the name, message me) that made us realize there are a lot of easy things we can be doing to save more efficiently. And it's not like 'stop ordering your lattes' and 'don't buy organic oranges' - it's way bigger picture than that. So on top of fall cleaning this past weekend, we also set up a few automatic systems to be a little bit more financial savvy. 

Again, I can't believe I'm writing about money, but I wouldn't write about it if I didn't think it was important - and easy for anyone to do.

That's it. Three fairly simple things, that honestly put us both in good moods, and made us feel well-equipped moving forward. I would also show you an example of Andrews "system" that he has written on our white board, but honestly I can't even understand what it says.

If you were looking for some motivation, hopefully this gave you a little bit. If you have officially moved me into the category of 'boring people in your life' - I apologize - but hey, I'm four months out from 30 years old so I guess you should have seen it coming  ;)

Cheers - 

Kait

Investments

I like the kind of questions that make me stop me in my tracks. The kind that get down under my skin and really make me think, forcing me to repeatedly revisit it.

April has been nothing short of a whirlwind, with two fantastic weeks of back to back visitors. First we had the honor of hosting Andrew's brother and wife, who then went on from here to Greece. Two days after I headed back to the airport to scoop up three of Andrew's high school/middle school/elementary school (IDK these guys have been friends forever) buddies, who we had a blast running around Israel with.

Andrew's friend count of visitors: 5

Kait: 0

(not including family)

Where ma' girls at?

Since the dust settled this past Monday and the boys went on to their next connections - including Andrew who had a work trip - the apartment has been eerily quiet. Too quiet. So quiet that I made a point to hardly be in it at all, jumping from working in coffee shops to dog walking to visiting new babies to the gym, etc.

But it was the quietness and loneliness of this week that made me revisit the question that one of Andrew's friends asked me last week - What would I even be doing with my time in Israel if I didn't have an interest in fitness.

The question honestly left me without an answer, and my response at the time was to laugh and shrug, admitting that I had never even thought about that.

Think about it though. Think of the most prominent interest/passion that you have in your life, whatever you are most invested in and love, and then pretend you actually don't like it at all. Wipe it off the map. What do you think your fall back would be?

I'm still scrapping my brain. I would say my runner up is writing - but how do you make friends through writing? Attend slam poetry contests? Maybe a local writers workshop hosted in Hebrew?

Perhaps I would get heavily invested in dogs. I mean I already am - and genuinely, heavily miss being a dog mom every single day. I've always had in the back of my mind to volunteer at one of the local shelters - and have even looked up courses as to how you can become a dog trainer. Dogs are probably my second passion tied with writing.

I don't know why, but the question shook me and simultaneously made me step back and really appreciate what this passion has done for me - actually for both of us as a couple - in regards to the life that we have built here in TLV.

Outside of the fact that fitness-related activities take up a lot of my time and are slowly but surely intertwining with my career, it's also how we have made roughly half of our friendships in Tel Aviv. So to imagine removing that entire portion of my life actually makes me wince a little.

It's an odd thought to have, but I found it to be an equally productive brainstorming session. At any moment passions/loves/interests can quickly be extracted from our lives, and perhaps it's smart to know what you can fall back on when it comes to dedicating your time and energy.

Just felt the need to share, and let the general realm of health and fitness know that I'm appreciative of it. On that note - I'm off to swim. Have a great weekend!

Cheers - 

Kait

5.2

I'm happy to report that the violent cold/cough/sickening that haunted me for roughly 15 days has finally surpassed, and this week I've had the pleasure of being back to operating normally.  It's a little sad that it took a hell of a cold to remind me not to take my health for granted, but nevertheless this week I've been uber aware of way more pros, and way less cons.

Ready?  Five things Friday - 

1. Yesterday on a mid-day walk, I noticed a group of tourist snapping pictures of myself and the dog. I tried to act like I didn't notice and continued gazing off into the distance, as if in deep contemplation of life.  In reality I internally was laughing at the situation, hoping that when the tourists get back home they post the pictures and caption the one of me as:

'A local Israeli walking her native dog.'

LOL

2. Speaking of the dog - I've mentioned this before, but I'm unsure that Kai is ever going to get over the cat situation here.  Probably my favorite cat occurrence yet was also yesterday, when a cat women came out to feed the local strays near her apartment.  We just happened to be on that side of the street when literally 10+ cats began swarming the woman, meowing loudly.

Kai froze, as she usually does when she sees cats, as if it's the most alarming and fascinating situation she's ever seen.  Yet in this case, watching double digit cats shove their faces with food was simply too much.  She refused to move, or even cross the street with me; went full rigamortis to the point where the cat lady glared at me, as if we were plotting to hunt down one of the cats for our next meal. Maybe we were.

In the end, I had to pick up and carry my 50 lb dog around the cat buffet, and even after that it took her awhile to recover.

3. I will forever mix up cilantro and parsley at the grocery store.  They look the same, the labels are in Hebrew, and I'm still too lazy scared to ask the check-out lady which one is which.  Three times now I have purchase the wrong one, leaving our dinners herb-less.

Upon googling, I just discovered this great side by side comparison that still literally helps me in no way. 

4. Recently I've been doing some freelance editing/content writing for a local start-up.  The way I fell into it is absurd, but the point of me sharing is simply to note that I've discovered I really actually enjoy editing content. Like a lot. So, if anyone out there ever needs something edited - I'm your girl.  Unless it's like a 100 page document, then you're probably going to have to flash some green at me.

5. I was recently educated that this weekend is the Jewish New Year for trees - Tu Bishvat.  Because plants deserve New Years too. Supposedly you celebrate by feasting on fruit, planting trees, and drinking wine.  I can get on that train.

Anyways, hope you enjoyed five random things. Make your weekend great.

Cheers - 

Kait

Metaphors

One of my absolute favorite things to do in the morning is to take the time to sit down with a hot cup of coffee, and a blank page - or blank computer screen. The potential to write literally anything I want; what's bothering me, what I'm thankful for, what's been nagging at the back of my mind, is kind of like a small sigh of relief.

When I sat down this morning I didn't know where my fingers were going to take me.  I've got a lot going on in this head right now, it's been a week to say the least.  But I knew that if I just started writing, it would go somewhere, and I would feel better.

You should see the way I go about writing drafts, it's semi-manic.  The initial flow isn't a flow at all, paragraphs jump all over the place with thoughts I don't want to lose, and words repeat themselves. Once I'm convinced it's all there, I start picking through, deleting, rearranging and rewording.  I stop, pace around.  I take my wedding ring on and off, sometimes get aggravated by my glasses and put my contacts in.  I read it a few times outloud.

If life was like writing, it might be a little easier.  "Wait hold on, I don't like the way I just answered that question, it actually might be offensive, let me delete that line."  Not that simple.  Once the words are said, once the actions are done, there's no editing in life.  Sure there are do-overs, but that doesn't delete the memory of the first time.

And while life isn't like writing, it also is... because of the wild potential. To get a little metaphorical, we are writing our lives, right?  We are consciously choosing how to spend every waking minute, we are selecting what we do with our time.  As I'm sitting here, pausing and looking at the rest of my life as one giant blank page, it somewhat intimidates me.  Sure, I've got 28 years of pages full behind me - soon to be 29 - and every single page is bursting with content, emotion.  But not to be morbid... I mean who really knows how many blank pages I have ahead of me to fill.  None of us do.

I just think too often we get caught in the crazy routine of life, the repetitiveness of the Monday-Friday... and we fall into the "life is a grind" or "my day is a checklist" mindset instead of "life is a crazy beautiful novel, that each of us are writing, side by side."

Alright, I'll hop off the metaphor train now.  Just like blankness, I take great joy in newness.  New years, new months, heck even new weeks. I turn 29 in roughly three weeks, and I'm choosing to use that as a benchmark. There's been a lot of back and forth lately in figuring out what I want, who I want to be, what I'm striving for, what I'm pursuing during our time here in Israel.  Because it's a limited amount of time, but it offers massive potential. And while there have been small victories the first five months; baby steps have been made, certain things have been figured out... I'm not really looking for a handful of small victories during year 29.  I'm looking for bigger ones.

Kait you're back on the metaphor train with this victory talk, what do you even mean?

I don't know. I guess I have three weeks to figure it out.

Cheers - 

Kait

Confessions of a Hypochondriac

Good Morning, and Happy Friday!

I'm back at my favorite Friday spot - Panera. It's been awhile, but I think they remember me. During my 10 seconds standing in line I considered getting a pumpkin muffin, but decided to save the indulgences for the cruise starting next weekend.

Speaking of pumpkin, I have something a bit odd to share. I saw the idea on Carrots 'n' Cake first, so I can't take the credit. Yet I added a twist on her recipe, and came up with this...

Pumpkin, 1 mashed up banana, some chopped up figs, almond butter, and a dash of both honey and cinnamon. Once warmed up in the microwave, I almost felt like I was eating dessert or maybe a form of baby food?

Either way, it was a quick, easy and delicious breakfast.

Recently I've kind of been putting off the topic of running because I'm not really positive what's going on with my body (surprise, surprise). I do know that I've been having several runs like this:

This was Monday, followed by another 8 miles last night at a 7:30 pace. Cardio-wise, I feel great. And then there's my feet.

About two weeks ago on a 12-miler I got that feeling in my right foot that made me instantly want to throw myself over the side of the bridge I was running over. That stress fracture kind of feeling.

Now, I'm very torn. I've obviously still been running the past two weeks since feeling that all too familiar feeling. It's odd because some runs I feel it, some runs I don't. Most runs I feel great cardio-wise, and tell myself that I simply must be insane.

Even my mom, one of the more cautious people that I know, asked me when I was home,

"Are you sure you aren't just making it up in your head? You are a hypochondriac after all..."

That's a statement that I can't argue. The past year, outside of the real injuries that I've actually had, I've been convinced that I had a torn hamstring, a torn achilles, a torn meniscus, a torn hip flexor, low iron, ulcers, pink eye, a broken toe, depression, gluten intolerance, and dairy intolerance. 

I didn't have any of those things. Can we all take a moment and give my boyfriend an appreciative head nod? Because who do you think I ran to (oftentimes in tears) every single time I self-diagnosed myself? Him.

Felt like I should insert some comedic relief 

Anyways, back to the running a marathon with a possible stress fracture topic. Part of me wants to do it. And I definitely don't want to defer until I know 100% that I can't do it. It may even be too late to defer, I'm too afraid to check the website.

My plan? To set out for 15-18 (close to home) miles tomorrow morning, and listen to my body. See at what point things start hurting, what kind of pain it is, etc. This weekend was suppose to be 22, and then taper. Best case, I hit 20 tomorrow and declare 'It's on' and let the taper begin.

And if it hurts? And that all too familiar stress fracture feeling is screaming at me and I come to the realization that 26 miles on a semi-broken foot is a poor idea? Well, it's not the end of the world. But we can talk more on Sunday once I've figured this stupid foot out.

I'm glad this is out in the open now, I feel like I've been hiding a heavy dark secret for the past two weeks. 

Good luck to my runners this weekend. My roommate is running her first (DC) Ragnar Relay, and I hope she has an absolute blast. I'm off to start my Friday, I even wore a skirt today so I'm feeling extra productive.

I would love feedback from runners on the stress fracture thing. I wouldn't love long-winded lectures on 'being smart'... believe me, I'm not stupid. I've played through torn ligaments and given myself vertebral fractures, the whole nine yards. I'm no stranger to pain and what I should and shouldn't push through, I promise.

Cheers!

K

Snapshots

My new favorite place to write by far is up on my rooftop deck. No matter how hot it may be, the breeze up here always makes it bearable. Nothin' like soaking up some sun while writing my afternoon away.

I realized recently that we are already halfway through July. In my mind, that's halfway through summer. So this weekend I tried my best to capture a few artsy pics of the sweet summer memories that we made. Friday we spent time at a coworker's house down on the water, and it was absolutely beautiful. Last evening was more time on my deck - no surprise there.

My wonderful Aunt surprised me with a giraffe windmill decoration for our new place last time I was home, and I finally got it set up yesterday. It definitely adds to the experience of our deck; everyone loved it!

Have you guys tried those Chobani Bites? They are smaller than your average Chobani greek yogurt, and have a pretty cool variety of flavors. I bought a four pack last week....

And of course I had to add an extra kick for my mid-afternoon boost at work. I'm a fan.

I stole another workout from Brooke - this is becoming a common theme - as my Friday morning run had to get postponed due to thunderstorms.

For time:
-80 situps
-70 air squats
-60 mountain climbers
-50 burpees
-40 jump squats (I did jumping lunges instead)
-30 hollow rocks
-20 push ups
-10 burpees

 The above workout took just over 20 minutes, and was a nice little sweat to start off the weekend right.

This made me laugh... especially as I'm a little upset tomorrow's already Monday. After a four-day weekend last week, two days just doesn't seem long enough. Favorite part of my day so far today? 7 miles in the park was nice, but I was pretty pumped to be able to ride my bike down to Safeway to grab some groceries this afternoon.

Save that environment. Save that gas.

I need to shower, I smell. This has been a lot of fun. Tell me either 1. your favorite Chobani flavor or 2. your favorite part of your day so far.

Cheers!