We went to Santa Fe...

…and all he got was this hat. 😂

That’s not really all he got. But what kid picks a winter hat as their souvenir from a family vacation? Our kid. 😂

We snuck away and spent 5 days in Santa Fe, New Mexico in October of 2021. It was our first big family trip since the pandemic became reality in February of 2020. It was recharging to say the least — and we made some amazing memories as a family. The OG Meow Wolf did not disappoint!

Our nugget (center) and my hubby (left) in Meow Wolf, Santa, Fe, New Mexico.

We enjoyed our time in Santa Fe so much, we actually have a trip back planned for 2022.

Work in Progress IV

I told you I’d be back in a minute with a more in-depth update on my #finebyforty challenge and here I am. Like I mentioned in the last post, with Covid-19 happening, I haven’t been to the gym in over six weeks at this point, so my progress on bulking up has been delayed.

My fella and I have made sure to increase our activity level with daily walks, some jogging, biking and we’ve started hiking with friends on the weekends too. That effort has kept our cardio levels on-par or better than what they were, so we’ve both managed to continue leaning out through this gym hiatus. I’m happy about that, but frustrated that my progress on adding muscle mass to my upper body has been halted again (After hernia surgery last winter). It’ll happen in due time though; most important thing is that we all stay healthy.

Same Shorts, 65 Pound Difference

I realized over the weekend that my pajama shorts were the same red shorts from these “before” pictures you’ve seen several times, so I decided to do some side-by-side progress shots.

Left: the “after” shot for the front angle was taken Saturday morning and I’m bloated in my belly. We have a standing Friday night zoom happy hour with our friends, where we catch up, eat dinner and have drinks together. I woke up feeling (and showing) the prior night’s food and beverage choices in my gut.

Right: The “After” picture for the profile shot was taken this morning (Sunday) after a busy day with better dietary choices. The bloat is gone and you can see my baby 2 pack showing through (we’re working on it, girl).

Here are a couple mirror selfies for the week, to prove how extra I am ATM. No, I don’t shave my legs; I’ve just never grown a ton of leg hair and what I do have is blond. :)

The Details

As I always, I can’t really tell you what these numbers relay but I do know that ones that should be trending down are and the ones that should be trending up are at least maintaining.

Measurement	Starting	5/10/20	Progress
Height:	5'11"	5'11"	No Change
Weight:	265 lbs.	211 lbs.	Loss of 54 lbs.
Body Mass Index (BMI):	36.7%	25%	Loss of 11.7% BMI
Body Fat:	36%	25.2%	Loss of 10.8% Body Fat
Visceral (Abdominal) Fat:	19%	10%	Loss of 9% Visceral Fat
Muscle Mass:	130.5	161.1	Gain of 30.6 Muscle Mass
Bone Mass:	5.6	9.2	Bone Mass gain of 3.6
Max Push-up Count:	9	44	Gain of 35
Max Plank Interval:	25 seconds	110 seconds	Gain of 85 seconds
Max Bench Press Weight:	45 lbs.	195 lbs.	Gain of 150 lbs.

I'm back!

Hi friends! I’ve resurrected the site after a few months away and, MAN, am I glad to see y’all.

Why the time away and new domain? Life, man. Life.

Over the past year, I’ve been through some big changes and life has been a wild ride. I reached a point where I had too many irons in the fire, so I made a choice to slow my roll on the illustration and blogging front. I was bummed about it, but it was the right choice at the time. And, even better, I’m back now and I feel refreshed and energized and jazzed to the max.

WORK IN PROGRESS - CHECK IN

The last time we spoke (in January, y’all…sheesh) I gave you an update on the fitness journey I started last fall. Let’s start there.

I’m happy to report that I’m still on the grind. I’ll post a more thorough update later, but I’m currently weighing in at 212 pounds, which is a total loss of 53 pounds from where I started in the fall. More than that, I am in the best shape of my life and the strongest I’ve ever been.

There have been a lot of milestone over the past few months, but I’m gonna pause here and just share a few pics from my hiatus to document the journey.

These couple snaps are from today and, man, do I need a haircut.

And here are a few comparisons I’ve posted to social media, showing a current pic versus an older photo.

The left collage is from February 2020 and the one on right is a progress picture from March 2020.

This “after” pic is from this week. I went through my closet and dresser this past week to get rid of the clothes that are too big for me now as I was approach summer. I found this Level 3 tee from the 2010 Day of Caring in the back of a drawer. I had no idea I still had it. I remember that, at the time, I was super embarrassed because I couldn’t fit in the tee, even though it was a size Large. I had to run to Target the night before to find an XXL shirt that coordinated with the official event t-shirts. It fits now though - a decade later!

COVID-19 & LIFE

Obviously life has been different here lately. Before the Tulsa-area went on shutdown, my partner and I had already decided to practice social distancing to the max. By the time Tulsa tightened restrictions, we were already working remote and staying close to home.

We’ve had a lot of pajama days around these parts and lots of puzzles, board games, card games, chess and video games to pass the time.

I’m lucky enough to work remotely full time, so there wasn’t much of a transition for me.

The kiddo is homeschooled through a local charter school, so this was also a pretty smooth transition for him, other than school was put on hold for a few weeks.

My guy has had the biggest adjustment professionally but has sailed through it like the pro he is.

This has been an incredibly stressful time for everyone. I feel fortunate that I’m surrounded by people who have been focused on supporting each other and making the most out of everything. Like I mentioned, we’ve had lots of family time and game nights.

But, when our respective gyms both closed, my partner and I needed to figure out how to adjust so that we didn’t derail our progress while we still maintained our safety and level of activity.

Enter: our new bikes.

In addition to taking longer walks as often as we can, we’ve been putting these babies to work, cycling all over town and the metro.

Between sensible eating, staying active with walking, jogging and biking, we’ve both managed to continue shaving off body fat during this epidemic, which is miraculous to me considering we haven’t been to the gym in 6 weeks and we’re home all day surrounded by food. That time outdoors, and burning off energy, has also helped us manage the feeling of confinement we’re all dealing with.

We can’t wait for life to get back to normal, but we’ve enjoyed the time slowing down and being together too. We are staying safe and taking care of each other. I hope you are too.

I’ll be back soon with a recipe that’s become a family fav through this quarantine; it’s so easy and so good!

Work in Progress III

Hi friends! First post of 2020! I hope you all had a happy and safe holiday season. Thank you for all the sweet messages and comments over the past couple of weeks checking in on me. I figured for my first post in the new year, I’d do a check in on the recovery and do a #finebyforty update, since I keep getting asked about it. Also, nipples for my thirsty friends! :)

Recovery

Last time I check in, I was pretty fresh out of the operating room. As I mentioned in that entry, post-op nausea was a major concern and, because of that, we approached sedation differently. I had a nerve block in my abdomen to cut down on the amount of sedation they gave me. It was a success; I had almost no nausea after the operation. What I didn’t anticipate was the abdominal cramping that hung around for a couple days after surgery. I spent a good amount of time like this: resting with a heat pad on my belly. It did wonders. Also…love that orange iodine line I’m sporting. It took so many showers to fully banish it.

I’m not about two weeks out from my surgery and I’m mostly back to normal. I’m not in any pain; just sore now. I was cleared this week to start light cardio; I’m still not able to lift anything over 10 pounds or do any core work for another month though. Aside from a setback where I popped a suture in the night and woke up to a Godfather-esque bloodbath in my bed, the surgery was pretty uneventful. Recovery has been pretty smooth too.

Huge shout out to my family, friends and my guy for taking such great care of me and the kiddo over the past few weeks.

The Journey

I was super bummed when I went to the doc in late November and found out that my umbilical hernia was worsening; I was even more bummed to find out that I had to stop working out immediately while waiting on my repair surgery. I had been making steady gains and had momentum going. With working out on hold, I knew that I needed to be extra diligent if I wanted to maintain my progress. With the help of people smarter than me, I came up with a diet plan to help me maintain over the two months of waiting for surgery, having surgery and recovery time.

I’m now over half way through that period. I’m happy to report that not only have I maintained my weight loss despite not being able to do cardio - I’ve continued to lose weight. Thanks to eating a sensible, balanced diet and lots (and lots) of walking, I’ve lost 7 pounds over the past few weeks.

Left to Right: January 2020, October 2019, December 2019

It hasn’t been easy. In addition to being on physical restrictions, I had to practice self-control and navigating the holidays. I’m not going to lie and said I was always successful; I dabbled with a little bit of everything. Candy, cookies, cake, pie, hot cider with fireball in it. I thoroughly enjoyed the season with my tribe but, wherever possible, I tried to find balance.

Milestones

Here’s an update on all the numbers. We’re continuing our positive trending across the board, which I’m jazzed about.

Measurement	Starting	1/8/20	Progress
Height:	5'11"	5'11"	No Change
Weight:	265 lbs.	223.6 lbs.	Loss of 41.4 lbs.
Body Mass Index (BMI):	36.7%	29.1%	Loss of 7.6% BMI
Body Fat:	36%	27.2%	Loss of 8.8% Body Fat
Visceral (Abdominal) Fat:	19%	11.6%	Loss of 7.4% Visceral Fat
Muscle Mass:	130.5	161.1	Gain of 30.6 Muscle Mass
Bone Mass:	5.6	9.2	Bone Mass gain of 3.6
Max Push-up Count:	9	44	Gain of 35
Max Plank Interval:	25 seconds	110 seconds	Gain of 85 seconds
Max Bench Press Weight:	45 lbs.	195 lbs.	Gain of 150 lbs.

And here’s my starting picture and a current progress shot. Ignore my mopey face in the current pic. I’ve had to wear a belly band 24/7 for support since my surgery - only taking it off to shower. I was bummed about having to band back up because that thing is itchy and uncomfortable.

I’m still swollen in spots from the surgery, but I’m happy with the progress I’ve continued to make. If you look closely, you can see my abs starting to come through. They’ve been MIA since my twenties, so I’m pumped about that. I’m swimming in most of my old clothes at this point. I went shopping for a few basics recently. I’ve gone from a XXL in shirts to a Medium in most brands (Large if it’s a slim fit shirt). My waist has gone from a 38 to a 32, the same as 25-year-old Ryan.

Sharing these two pics just for fun. Lighting matters, folks. These pictures were both taken within 5 minutes each other at the same club when I was out with my people seeing one of my favorite local bands last weekend. The picture on the left was taken in the club; I took the picture on the right about 5 minutes later in the men’s room.

The guy on the left looks super unhealthy and is the stuff of nightmares. :) The guy on the right is cute tho.

The first pic was a good reminder about why I’ve taken the path I have with my fitness journey. I have intentionally not focused on losing weight; the emphasis for me has been on building muscle and improving my health. In the past, when I’ve tried to manage me weight, I’ve always lost too quickly and ended up looking like a deflated balloon. I don’t want that. And I don’t want to drop to a weight that doesn’t fit my frame. I’ve tried to replace chub with muscle.

Like I’ve said before, this isn’t a diet or a temporary change for short term results. This has been a total lifestyle change for me and I’m so thankful to see my progress continue despite this injury and setback. I can’t wait to be fully released in February and get back to hitting it hard (but safely). I have big gials for 2020 and some of them will hopefully take place on the rugby field.

Birthday and a Bummer

The busyness of life seems to be accelerating quickly as we march towards the holidays and 2020., amiright?

I did want to hit pause on the chaos and celebrate the birth of one of the best humans I know. I’m thankful for your presence in my life. May this be the best year yet.

And I wanted to share a bummer of a situation, since y’all have been on this #finebyforty journey with me.

Two weeks ago, I experienced some tightness in my abdomen during my core workouts and core work in yoga. I spoke with my trainer about it and we adjusted; we let my abdominal area rest.

Last week, at the end of a workout, I had a sharp pain again and something felt off. Long story short, I gave myself a little abdominal tear and an umbilical hernia. It’s not severe, but it’s big enough that it needs to be repaired, which means I’ll be having surgery to close it in the next couple of weeks.

It also means that I’m on a lot of restrictions, as far as physical activities go. No liftings, light cardio and no strain on my core. My trainer and I have come up with a low-impact routine with a limited range of motion to help me maintain my progress over the next 6-8 weeks, as we do the repair and then recovery time.

So, if #finebyforty updates slow down, that’s why. I’ve made changes to my diet to account for the lowered activity level and I’m optimistic that this recovery will go quickly and I’ll be back on the grind in 2020.

This was a bummer, but whaddyagonna, right?

Gobble Gobble

Guys! We are 19 days away from Christmas and I can hardly wait. I’m doing a bunch of illustration work right now but there isn’t much that I can share since most have been commissioned for gifts. So I thought I’d do a quick recap of the holiday and also a #finebyforty check-in, considering this is the hardest time if year to stay on goal.

Stuffed and Thankful

Despite the marathon of social gatherings, this Thanksgiving left me feeling recharged. It was a lot of time with the folks I love, just stuffing our faces, talking, laughing and playing games. As things wound down, I sat with my people and we talked about how slow and relaxed the holiday had been and how nice it was. Of course the hot apple cider spiked with Fireball probably didn’t hurt either. :)

This sweet old kitchen is tired, but she served a lot of hot meals over the holiday. It’s one of the crowd-favorite gathering spaces in my house and always feels cozy and inviting. It’s also her last Thanksgiving holiday; renovations start in early 2020 and she’s going to be a whole different lady after we’re done. It’s a little bittersweet because I already have so many memories in this space.

Stuffed and Focused

I made it known to everyone that I was going to EAT this Thanksgiving. Changing my habits and maintaining a sensible diet (with occasional cheats) hasn’t been that difficult. But there was no way I was going to count calories, carbs or cut back on Cool Whip.

And I ate. And I ate. I had everything I normally would - turkey, ham, steak, roast, mashed potatoes, baked potatoes, stuffing, bread, mac and cheese, chicken and dumplings, pie. cookies,. cake, brownies, more pie. I ate what I wanted, when I wanted and I enjoyed the holiday with my tribe. I did eat less in general though because, after months of cleaner eating, I just don’t have the room to put it away like I used to.

And, after all of that, I’m happy to report that I lost a half pound. I didn’t gain a single ounce, even stuffing myself silly. And here is the reason I was able to stay on track with my progress, despite derailing my diet…

I worked my ass off at the gym. Every single day (or night).

Knowing that I wasn’t going to over-think my food choices during the extended holiday, I made a plan to compensate and remain on track:

• I drank a ton of water.

• I hit the gym 7 days a week instead of 5.

• Instead of doing a 10 minute cardio warm-up before lifting, I did 40 minutes every day on the treadmill, elliptical or bike and then lifted.

• I raised my active burn calorie target from 800 to 1,500, and then I surpassed it every day.

• I increased the difficulty of my lifting to keep the burn going.

• I didn’t make excuses. My friends left my house at 1:30 AM on Friday and I was at the gym by 1:45 AM, getting my time in.

This isn’t a short-term plan for me or a fad diet. I’m not looking to shed a few pounds quickly. In fact, weight loss has never been my focus. I’ve been working to increase muscle mass, flexibility and athleticism. My goal is to be stronger and healthier. Clean eating, practicing yoga and working out are part of my daily life now, like any other routine. I didn’t want to worry about what I was eating over Thanksgiving and I didn’t want to feel guilty for indulging. So I planned for it and adjusted accordingly to maintain my progress. It wasn’t easy, but I got it done.

Pumpkin is a Fruit

What also helped? Knowing Pumpkin is actually a fruit, guys. So, when you eat an entire pumpkin pie in a day, you’re basically doing a fruit cleanse. Add a whole container of Cool Whip to the top (for dairy) and you’re cleansing while strengthening your bones.

…and that’s science, folks. #themoreyouknow

I’m thankful so many people are following along on this journey with me (and even checking in on my progress). Y’all are the sweetest and I promise to keep you updated! I want to also thank my friends and family who kept asking if I was sure I needed that 4th slice of pie. I was and I did. But that was was really helpful :)

I hope you guys had a hashtag blessed Thanksgiving! I have a couple non-surprise illustrations that I’ll be back to share with you next week. Talk to you soon!