Judgey McJudgerson

I think I'm a good judge of character. 

I do. I think if I get a good vibe from someone, I dunno, like I could hang out with them...it's cool.

And I thought that's what I found for Shermie.

A nice married lady, older son (about to move out), husband. Fenced in backyard. Has a weenie now, along with two other dogs. (One was supposed to move out with the son).

The lady has the same tattoo that I have! The one of Picasso's "Lump" wiener dog. 

It was meant to be.

Until it was not.

When he left...I was super sad. Cried and cried. Days leading up to his adoption, I cried and cried.

But I have to be an adult here. Mature. Responsible. 

I'm in no position to keep this dog. 

FOUR dogs? 

That's too many. 

But after one short weekend away, Shermie's new mom texted me and said her son couldn't bring a dog, she couldn't have 4 dogs in her town, yada, yada, yada. 

So we went and got him.

And he seemed SO HAPPY to be home. 

I mean. He fell asleep in our bed almost immediately and stayed there the entire night.

And of course since then, he's been an absolute gentleman. 

Very little barking/whining.

Settling in his crate when needed just fine.

No accidents.

Sleeps in bed and cuddles with Wiener. 

I can't take it.

I don't know if I can let him go again. 

They didn't snuggle a lot at first. I'd say it took at least 4 weeks before we saw any of this behavior. Shermie is very active and Wiener isn't a fan when he's all crazy. But this? I cannot. 

He is the busiest boy. He's super curious and is just a riot to be around. He has the best personality and is hilarious. 

The one ear flop these guys are known for. I'm going to get a tattoo with that on the back of my other arm. 

The night we let him go the first time. I was a wreck. 

The day he came home from the failed adoption

Just hanging out while I take Ava to the bus stop

Stop it. So cute!

💕

Work Trip

I travel for work maybe once a month? Maybe I'll go two months without a trip, then have a few in a row.

I thoroughly enjoy them.

Of course it's work and I have stuff to do while I'm there, but I love my team and since we're all remote, when we get to see each other, it's super fun. I'm SO GRATEFUL that my team is legit a good time. Like, it's FUN.

I've known a couple of my team mates (one is now my boss) for YEARS. Like 10 years, so that's super helpful in the "bonding."

I also get to wear real pants.

My team of 5 got to do a fun activity just us. We tried out this mini golf place and it was hilariously fun! 

We also did a big team dinner one of the nights. It was a little overwhelming to be honest with a bunch of us around these tables. We were in there TIGHT. 

I'm excited to be a part of this team and we have a lot of work in front of us. Lots of obstacles and challenges to get through, but a plan and vision in place. 

Working for a fintech within a bank is very interesting. I love my job, I love the type of work that I do.

I can't believe I'm coming up on one year already! Time really flies. 

I feel very lucky to have this position, this team. 

And I get to wear leggings 99% of the time. 

I'm coming up on another work trip, this time it's with all of Citizens Pay, not just my department. I can't wait.

This is less about the work, but more about the people doing the work. It's called CREDO week and it's when we celebrate employees.

I will then be traveling again for my client to Orlando sometime in early November, which is right before I got to Louisville for Chelsea's wedding! Lots coming up in the next couple of months. 

MIDDLE SCHOOL????

Well what the fuck.

She's in middle school.

And it's weird. 

We did the orientation.

We did the locker stuff.

We are SO happy that her absolute BFF has her locker RIGHT NEXT to hers. 

At orientation, checking out schedules

These two 💖

Best friends since First Grade

Sigh. I can't believe she's in middle school already. I remember her first day of Kindergarten like it was yesterday. 😭

Pear Picking

Last year my cousins on my mom's side came to visit. I hadn't seen them before that in like 20 years. Crazy!

My mom invited them up again this year and we did more pear picking.

It was a hot one, but it was super fun. 

Me, along with the rest of the Asian population in Rochester, got to the pear farm early Sunday morning. 

It was supposed to be 90 degrees that day, so I wanted to get there early. That and I knew if we waited too long, the big pears would be picked over.

FYI - I carried all of this (47lbs) by myself alllllll the way from the orchard to the parking lot. Without stopping.

My mom, so cute. 

The pears are simply delicious. 

The farm is run by this half Asian guy, who is constantly yelling at his mom and dad. And who is being constantly yelled at by his wife. It's hilarious.

The poor man always acts like it's such a hassle to run this farm/stand/u-pick. But it's like YOU open to the public? So..don't you expect people? But he is super friendly once you get talking to him.

And you know me, I'm a talker. And I was waiting for my mom and cousins to show up. I picked 47lbs by myself and waited for 30 minutes before everyone else showed up. 

I listened to this guy's spiel "if there's tape around the tree DON'T PICK FROM THAT TREE. I'll know. I don't care what you say, I don't care if it's your old dad who doesn't speak English, I have a zero tolerance and you will be asked to leave and you will be banned for LIFE"

WHAT?

LOL. I was dyiinnggg. 

All these little Asian people were just standing around him, nodding. Some laughing. Some not. 

So anyway. We get to talking and he's like "people think I want to be here all day - I have a regular day job too!" and I'm like "so what's that day job?" and he says "I'm a scientist at Bausch and Lomb" LOLLLLLL.

Again, WHAT?

I did not expect that answer for some reason. 

So he said because he works 7 days a week, he's a little salty. LOL. 

After pear picking, we went back to mom's house for a little BBQ. 

So much food and conversation!

Catching up

Even though these cousins are a bit older (in their early 50's now), we have lots of memories of visiting them back in the day. They were the "way cooler" older cousins. Who dyed their hair black and listened to rock music. 

Till next September. <3

Physique Update

Well folks, the summer is already gone. I'm not exactly sure how that happened so fast! I have been trying to focus on my fitness for the last few months. 

I've been doing pretty good, except with taking photos. I feel incredibly vain taking photos of myself, but I know it's how I can see what I've been working on visibly. It's not about how I look. It's about how I feel and how I feel in clothes. 

So my beginning weight, back in 2020 was around 126 - 128lbs. After I think 6 or so months of my fitness journey, I dropped almost 18lbs. My lowest recorded weight after I started lifting was 108lbs. I hadn't been that weight since...high school? 

Anyway, last summer I was around 116lbs and felt really good about that weight. Over the winter though, I wanted to try to bulk a little - I say that verrrryyyy loosely. I didn't have a strict regimen or anything, but I have been watching my nutrition. I wanted to gain muscle, so I wasn't afraid of eating...but getting in that much protein is hard! It's a weird feeling to want to eat to gain muscle, but also being worried about gaining weight. Ugh, so annoying. 

Anyway.

June 24

July 12

July 31

August 7

August 7

August 21

This has been my lowest weight since last year. I'm happy with my progress over the last couple of months. I'm definitely stronger and am lifting way heavier than I have before.

A few things to note - this is what I'm tpyically doing:

- Back flies unilaterally, using 20lbs - 3 drop sets of 14, 12, 10

- Bicep curls, unilaterally, using 20lbs - 3 drop sets of 14, 12, 10

- Back rows, unilaterally, using 30lbs - 3 drop sets of 14, 12, 10

- Shoulder press, unilaterally, using 30lbs, 2 sets of 5

- Tricep kick backs, unilaterally, using 15lbs, 3 drop sets of 14, 12, 10

- Deadlifts - I've done a few with the barbell at 105lbs I think. I don't use the barbell enough though. I normally deadlift using dumbbells (60lbs total)

- Squats - 60lbs 3 sets of 10 (I could probably do more...)

I distinctly remember not being able to curl 10lbs! So I'm feeling strong. I may incorporate more cardio into the mix, but we'll see. 

It's crazy to think it's been more than 3 years since I started this journey. From where I started and to where I am now. I've never had abs in my life before. Now I do. It's just crazy what the body can do. I've never had more confidence either - being an almost 42 year old mom of two. 

August 24 - 117.8lbs