Day 42-BA5 takes the lead

Hiked Rice Canyon today…

8/2/22. Tuesday

6:00-6:30-I take out my braids while lying in bed and listening to The Daily. I. am. tired.

6:30-7:30-The dog is asleep on the landing. When I open the door, she wakes up and we go downstairs so she can go potty. Cheese for her, coffee for me. I go upstairs, sit in the shower, drink my coffee, and ice my eyes. By 7:15, I’m starting to feel like a human again. Light makeup and I put on a hiking outfit.

7:30-7:50-I grab my lunch bag, coffee, and backpack and I’m out the door by 7:40. I eat my overnight oats in the car.

8:00-9:45-I meet my hiking group at the open space next to The Church of the Nazarene and we return to the formidable Rice Canyon, the site where “Julie” collapsed and had to be airlifted out a few weeks ago. Usually I walk at a fast clip, but I’m feeling very fatigued today, possibly due to the fact that it’s Day #2 of my period AND I experienced a terrible leg cramp earlier this morning in my right calf.

We reach the mountain and end of the trail where “Julie” decided to scramble up the vertical incline on her hands and knees, became tachycardic, and almost collapsed…all while still bragging about her service in Afghanistan and the fact that she’s an LAPD cop. Nobody cares. Your accomplishments mean nothing if you have to be airlifted out of a canyon. Those of us who witnessed the event start discussing it all over again. Everyone is pretending to be sympathetic but you can tell my fellow hikers just think she’s stupid. We never see “Julie” again.

We turn around and go back the way we came, until we come to a fork in the trail. We take the right prong of the split and proceed to hike up a series of steep hills with lose gravel. These inclines are so steep, I need a running start so I can go full blast up the side of the mountain. Most of the women are really struggling and when we hit the decline, they slide down on their butts. That being said, I’m able to navigate the trail fairly well. This is our most rigorous hike yet and I feel pretty good about my ability to keep up. Also, I need to show Renee that I can go the distance in case she wants to hit me up for an exploratory hike at a later date, like she was saying last time. Spoiler Alert: This never happens. I eat a few apple slices on trail.

Hike ends and Errand Day begins.

Errand Day

10:00-10:30-I go to Kohls and return a pair of leggings and a pair of shorts. They’re the wrong size and I recoup $85.

10:30-11:00-I go to BofA and pull out money for gas and my upcoming therapy session, then drive across the street to Chase and replenish that account because it’s low.

11:00-11:30-I go to Target to return the wrong shade of concealer, but realize I have the wrong receipt. While I’m in the car, “Suzy” from Dr. Sanders’ office calls me and we have a lengthy conversation about the facelift I’m considering. I schedule my consultation for Dr. Sanders’ earliest available appointment, which happens to be 8/31/22.

11:30-12:30-Return home and I post content and eat a few pieces of L.’s brownies.

I post content for my online classes and respond to a few emails.

L. leaves for work at The Club.

12;30-1:00-I return to Target with the correct receipt. It. is. hot! and yet, the parking lot is packed! I return the concealer for $5.15 while listening to What Next and Today Explained.

1:00-1:30-I get gas and fill up for $57. Gas is at $5.55 now; then

I get an ice coffee with my pre-loaded Starbucks card.

1:30-2:30- I go to Home Depot and buy trash bags, draino cleaner for my clogged sink, bleach, and Velcro. I also pick up a maroon swatch for my Curated Closet project to see if this color will serve as an accessory color for my outfits.

-I drive to Valencia Meadows Park to make sure I know where my Striders group is meeting on Thursday.

2:30-3:00-Return home and I put everything away; then

3:00-4:00-I have one of my pre-made salads and thaw 3 turkey meatballs that I froze months ago. I watch the first episode of Alba, B’s recommendation.

4:00-6:30-I take a nap.

6:30-7:00-I watch the rest of the Alba episode. I don’t like it. Hard pass.

7:00-8:00-I read Riot Girl in preparation for my Books and Brews book club meeting on 8/19/22.

8:00-9:30-L. returns from The Club and tells me about the terrible day she had. Member statements go out the first of every month and she had to field calls from several members complaining that their billing statements are incorrect. L. and I also discuss 13 Ways of Looking at a Fat Girl.

9:30-10:30-Blog post.

10:30-11:30- I continue planning my Santa Barbara mini-vacay trip.

-I buy a ticket for the San Bernardino INTEGRATRON Sound Bath. It truly is in the middle of nowhere (Landers, CA) and I’m not sure how I feel about being a lone female and traveling 6 hours across the desert, round trip, in my Toyota Corolla [I have 194,000 miles on that car]. In order to attend the Integatron, I will have to schedule an overnight stay at a hotel, hopefully in close proximity to this location.

-I check personal email and discover that Beach Cycle was canceled yet again. I won’t be scheduling anymore Beach Cycle events from this point forward. Think I’ll try riding my bike around town tomorrow…

-I check headlines and listen to True Crime Garage and Dateline.

-Although I made a Lotus Land reservation yesterday, I still haven’t received my emailed confirmation. great.

12:00-2:00 - Kitchen duty and I clean out the refrigerator. I make a batch of Greek yogurt with diced apple, walnuts, and honey and I slice a cucumber for snacks. I pack my lunch bag and continue listening to True Crime Garage and Dateline. I sample my yogurt as I’m mixing in the honey and eat several pieces of raspberry infused dark chocolate, along with almond butter and celery. I lay out a bike outfit for tomorrow.

2:00-2:45-Nighttime routine. Bed