Baby no more

A week of firsts.  First time I have a kid in high school.  Why do I feel like we are beginning the end?  I'm happy and sad all at the same time.  He's been super-duper nervous to be in a bigger school with so many kids and having to walk to and from school (he refuses to get his permit go figure), but so far, he's aced both.  It's crazy to see my use to be level of anxiety in him.  I mean the kid didn't sleep for two nights because he was so freaked out. I love that our local schools do a move up day where they could just be by themselves and figure some things out before everyone was back.  I also love that they have a crew of kids that make that day a little less scary for the freshmen.  

Also, we have hit the teenage angsty years hard.  No more pictures, please don't post that, please don't say anything, you are so cringe!  I knew this time would come that he wouldn't want to hang out with me anymore, so this doesn't surprise me.  If you've never heard of the "shitting the nest" theory, look it up. I had never heard of it but when I did, it made SO much sense.  The other night he told me that I just pissed him off so bad.  Get ready kid, this probably won't be the last time.  It hurts your momma heart but you also know this is part of growing up.  I'm not ready for this milestone but we are here.

Also, he no longer fits in the back of Tony's truck BUT I don't mind being shoved in the back because I have shorter legs.  My car sickness hasn't kicked in yet.  

Also, it is time.  I have been already drinking my pumpkin flavored coffee, but this is my first pumpkin beer of the season.  There is an ever so slight breeze that blows that makes me think that fall is knocking on the door and I will be running again.  

Three lifts this week, lower body, upper body and surprise surprise, core.  I love that the Peleton plus app give me all kinds of work outs that involve my core but aren't planks.  Sneaky ways to work my weakest part of my chain is where it is at.  #Fueledbybrickhouse.

Have a great week y'all!  Let's all manifest fall!

A brief brief

I'm trying something new.  Instead of writing when I get up, I'm trying to write before I go to bed.  Let's see how this goes.  Here are a few thoughts about last week. Spoiler alert: my battery on my laptop dies in about 0.2 seconds post taking it off of the charger, so we are calling this experiment failed.

Imposter syndrome is real.  I feel that way sometimes when we race.  We barely got the hang of quarter midgets and now we have dipped into the world of micros, and I feel it again big time.  This week it really bit us in the butt when we made a big rookie mistake of overheating our car. Our battery has been causing us issues, so it was either have a dead battery OR overheat the car.  We had hopes that it wouldn't overheat so we kept it on to save the battery, but spoiler alert, it did decide to overheat.  After having amazing hot laps, and a pretty damn good heat race where he started on the poll, he was pumped to start his 20-lap feature.  The car decided otherwise and he made a very smart decision to save the engine and pull it into the infield.  I will take a 9K save any day of the week.  He still got some money for last place, and we had a great time visiting with friends and old quarter midget racers who came out to support the ginger racer.  

Most of the week was spent alone as the boys headed to Tennessee to visit with family.  I did enjoy some alone time and some Netflix true crime time; however, I did miss both of them by the end of the week and was glad when they got home.  I kind of already do what I want, when I want to, so that wasn't a factor with them being gone.  I do miss Martin and had a little regret not going BUT we were slammed at work and being down a team member means we can't have anyone else out.  If I could move back to Tennessee, it would be to small town like Martin for sure.  To me, Jackson is way too big and there is too much crime, and I've gotten used to small town living.  Maybe a thought when Andrew goes to college.  I would LOVE it if he went to my alma mater as it's a smaller school and perfect for a kiddo like him that likes to ease into things.  He keeps saying he wants to go to KSU but that school will swallow him whole, unless he goes into music and the marching band where he will be taken care of I am sure.  

 

To end, random thoughts by Michelle.  I never knew how much anxiety I had till I didn't have any or had very little.  Why didn't I try medication sooner?  While it has dulled some of the parts of me that I miss like that super passionate person that makes me a kick ass scientist and board member, I don't miss the not sleeping, the constant worrying.  Now that I see it in my own child, I am not sure how people around me put up with me on a daily basis and how i didn't wear them the fuck out.  To sum it up, hey, I'm sorry.  If you are thinking about trying meds for anxiety, do it.  You won't regret it.  I surely don't.

Have a great week and sorry this is SO behind!

All by myself

What a long but good week, some of it without my boys.  Shall I begin?

Lots of great data at work and experiments finally working.  It's so cool to see the fruits of our labor finally paying off.  I don't ever mind long days when we can be proud and trust what we produce as a team.  

Four workouts with one being a RUN!   While it wasn't the best run ever (see my video blog on my FB page Running with Reds) it was still a RUN!  Let's just say Ollie was one happy little girl.  

Another night another band.  This time it was 90s country and honky tonk hits with my coworker.  I can't believe we had sweatshirts and jeans on in August.  

Plus, the night before, met up with a different coworker at Aggieville brewing and had dinner.  So blessed to have so many great coworkers who join me and indulge in my music and beer love.  Also, they listen to me, they love me how I am anxiety and all, and they wipe away my tears when I am stressed and upset.  How am I so freaking lucky???

Tony was at his 30th high school reunion in Tennessee this weekend. I am missing the boy something fierce.   I do always enjoy my alone time, but a few days is all I need to be good to go.  Counting down the days till they get home!

Have a great week y'all!

Hit and run

I'm one happy but tired puppy this week.   Being down one person and having multiple experiments going on has been tough and I've worked some 9-10 hour days, but when you are doing what you love, it makes the day go by faster and worth it.  We've pulled together and everyone is really leaning in and doing their job and it's fun to watch us become much closer as a team.  I almost don't want to hire anyone else but also, I'm almost 50 and not built for 10 hour days.  

Four work outs for me this week, two upper body and two lower body.  I am loving how my muscles are looking and the development, just wish my boobs and my gut would get the memo.  I know, I know, my eating needs to be cleaned up but dang it, I don't eat that horribly.  I try to get good clean protein every day, and I try to have healthy snacks any time I snack and honestly, I'm not much of a snacker anyway.  I try to only get fancy coffee once a week.  I have cut my drinking down (don't look at last week) and I try to drink light beer if I just need a quick beer.  

We didn't go to hear any bands, and I am sad for this but feels like 120 just didn't sound like a fun time to be sitting outside with no air flow.  I honestly thought they would cancel but they didn't and I hope that the band didn't melt.  Instead, we did a Netflix marathon, something I never do because I don't like sitting still for that long.  After a long week of working my butt off, sitting on my butt was probably what I needed anyway.  

And then my weekend ended on this.  Yes, someone hit my Tahoe and didn't stop.  Sigh.  Jon Snow is too old to invest a ton of money in him to fix.  I am hoping to make it to next year and then start car shopping.  No one's cameras picked up the culprit, but thanks to many of my neighbors for checking anyway.  Huge thank you to the Wamego PD for getting out so quick to get a case started and to State Farm for getting a claim started right away.  I still need to get it into a body shop to see what the damages are going to cost.    Huge thank you to my neighbor for bringing zip ties out so I could at least drive it since Tony was on an emergency call all day.  

Good as new right?  SO glad it's drivable and hopefully this won't cost me an arm and a leg.  

Have a great week y'all!!!!

Summer fun

Well, the thing at work that I wondered would happen finally happened and it's been a roller coaster of a week.  Basically, all parties involved were not happy, a resolution was met, and people are still not happy.  I have been told I am being blamed for everything and honestly, I knew it was coming. I take accountability for any and all of my actions at all times, but this time, I had zero reasons to feel anything bad about the situation in terms of my involvement.  I have always worked my butt off, given the best data possible to my boss, been accountable for any and all mistakes I have made in any experiment I have done, and I rest easy at night knowing those things are true.  Is it hard telling your boss you've screwed up?  Heck yeah.  Is it hard to admit your faults or shortcomings?  Heck yeah.  But that is part of growth.  Being honest and accountable is hard, sometimes it hurts.  Yes, sometimes I cry.  Yes, sometimes I am harder on myself than anyone else in the room, but that is how it should be.  Science is a cruel mistress, and it can reveal you and your weaknesses even if you think you are perfect.  I will NEVER blame others for my short comings.  I work on myself daily both professionally and personally.  I go to therapy, I self-reflect (and overthink), I listen to podcasts and read books to learn about others and how to deal with all kinds of people and I am still a work in progress.  I am far from perfect and I never will be, but I put in the effort to be the best that I can and admit blame when I am at fault.  Do I always handle situations the best, no.  Can I learn from several things at work that have happened lately and try and get better, yes.  Will I move forward and try to be more direct and less a turtle in conflict, yes.  I wish my coworker the best of luck.  He has a big heart and can be very kind.  I will never forget when he door dashed me some Advil when we were on a working road trip at like 4 am because I had a puking headache and then when the door dasher canceled, he went and picked it up himself in a snowstorm.  I will always remember him singing that tune and me finally after a year of him singing it, figuring out what riff he was singing.  I hope he finds his dream job and gets to use his very creative mind to its fullest.  I truly wish him all the best.

On to other happier notes.  We had our annual work party.  It was so good to just sit, eat good food, talk, and laugh.  We may be a small group right now, but we are mighty and we will get shit done.  Proud to work with these ladies and gentlemen and to plow through a lot of really cool projects.  I truly am so blessed to be able to love what I do and enjoy coming to work every day.  I really hope this lasts a long time and that we can continue to do really awesome work and provide livestock with healthy alternatives to antibiotics.

I did get a somewhat glowing review on my thyroid.  If you've been following along, a few months ago I noticed an enlargement in my thyroid and while I feared the worst, it has been so far benign, just a pain in the rear.  I just had my follow up ultrasound and everything oddly enough had shrunk, although she (yes, my thyroid is a she don't ask) is still swollen and changes sizes daily.  Until she becomes a big enough problem to keep me from swallowing or breathing or my labs change, she gets to stay.

Oh yes, three work outs at the shop with my weights.  Two upper body and one lower body.  Someone asked if I am still using my Peloton Strength Plus app and yes, I am.  Right now, I have it set on an hour, only dumbbells, warm up and cool down, build muscle, and advanced.  I do sub in sometimes my barbell, like today I put in some deadlifts with my barbell in lieu of what they wanted me to do with the dumbbells.  

We had two fun events this week on top of our lab party.  We went to drinks and thinks at what use to be Harry's which is now Arrow Cocktail Lounge and also to see a band at Aggieville brewing that played Irish rock.  Both were very entertaining, one for the brain and one for the ears.  Andrew got some merch and got to go talk to the band during their break.  We also got to learn a ton at Drinks and Thinks about the Wareham family and their legacy in Manhattan KS.  

It's been a great week overall.  I am ready to move on and move forward and love being at work and doing my job again with a great team.  Y'all have a great week too!

Yep, I suck

Oh man, two weeks behind!  It's been a busy two weeks so enjoy some pictures!

First up fourth of July week.  Three lifts, no runs due to heat.  4th of July in Boomtown is serious!  

Lots of rain so we moved the party inside and welcomed some new families to the Boomtown fold.  A great time was had by all (I think).  The pyro crew put on an amazing show with Paint the Sky being a new element that I truly loved.  I try and just watch the show and not video or have my phone out, but these fireworks were so beautiful this year.

Oh Boomtown, how we love you!  I didn't see the crowd numbers they were expecting, probably because of the rain.  Yeah, it was muggy but overall, a very cool and comfortable day.  We love opening our home up to our friends to party, blow shit up and have a great time.  

Week 2, not as much excitement.  Just coming down from Boomtown.  Four lift sessions, no runs.  A crazy storm that dropped major limbs.  Another band, Side Hustle at Manhattan Brewing Company.  

Also, the Simon Spectacular Year 2 where we ate great food, blew some shit up, and I tried blackberry crown and fell in love (JK).  We had some really pretty fountains we lit up this year and those are always my favorite over the big booms.  It was fun to blow up an old grill however with some big boomers.   Ended the week with some yard work, some lifting, and some family time.  

The next few weeks could get spicy.  We have racing returning, lots of bass lessons, enrollment for high school, crazy experiments at work, and a work party.  Have a great week y'all!!!!

Another band?

What to say about this week?  It's been a long one and an interesting one at work and while I hope someday, I can elaborate, right now I am not saying anything out of respect for the situation.  Stay tuned.  I am hoping for resolution one way or the other soon.  Sorry to be so very cryptic.  I will share at the appropriate time.  

  

Four lifts this week, two upper body and two lower body.  I totally screwed up my thumb by doing renegade rows on my 20 lbs that have metal gnarling.  I felt it coming and stopped before it got worse but in typing this on Sunday, I hope I can actually grip the dumbbells. No running.  Between the week I had with late days and Andrew's bass lessons, nothing aligned for me to be able to safely run.  If I could get my butt out of bed at 4 am again like I use to, that would probably work, but I can't so that is not going to work.  This week we are in an extreme heat advisory, so running probably won't happen again.  It's okay, before we know it fall will be here and Ollie and I will be back on the road.  

Another week of bass lessons and summer fun!  I am not sure how we are going to fit in two nights a week in the school year, but I am loving the progress and don't want it to stop.  Andrew absolutely loves Mr. Andy and how he pushes him to do hard things.  They are working a lot on technique and musicality and I LOVE it.  They have really clicked lately and it's fun to watch.  

We hit up Manhattan for another band, this time at Manhattan Brewing Company.  My goal was to get Andrew around as many different types of bands as I could get him around and we have been trying to get this band in our schedule for weeks.  This was a jazz band complete with a bass, drummer, and a xylophone player.  How cool is that???

Have a great week y'all and stay cool!  I am ready for BOOMTOWN 2026!