As 2025 comes to an end, I have opted to choose me over the ever changing world that corporate America has become and the impact it placed on my life and health. The good Lord provided me so many wonderful opportunities, met so many wonderful people, some of those, I am thrilled to call friends to this day and eventually leading me to say in 2026, I am choosing to live my best life without the stress of meeting someone else’s expectations of me.
I will be turning 61, it is now where the years ahead of me become shorter so I am choosing to Journey and Explore more of all that life is willing to share with me, and perhaps include a few videos or photos of what I have discovered. Maybe a YouTube channel will be in the cards but that will be the fun of what is yet to come.
As 2024 comes to an end, I say goodbye my life leading up to and thru my 50’s all the good, bad and ugly that came with it, including those visions and hopes of retirement. 2025 will be about Journey and Exploring a navigating through a new life which begins at 60
Mental Health: I am sure I am not the only one that tries to go thru life dealing with specific mental health issues with no providers in our age brackets that can understand life as we know it to help navigate life’s obstacles.
Health and Fitness: Getting older health is critical in extending our life. We struggle more with bodies not functioning as we were younger; maybe body dysmorphia; medicines that are needed; vitamins required. Spouses, significant others not finding us attractive including thinner as we once were in our 30’s/40’s. Part of this years Journey is tracking my health and fitness journey to lose 30 plus pounds naturally(vegetables; fruits; proteins) without pharmaceutical chemicals. That will include working out with my Pelotons; getting back into geocaching; and adding adventures on my Ryker.
YouTube: Exploring the world of YouTube Channel for sharing content including activities; progress; tips that might help navigate thru “Golden Years”
Retirement Planning: Continue all efforts required leading up to retirement
My hope is the content I provide can be both informative and somewhat entertaining
November starts the month of Thanksgiving. To me this is where I start to look back on the year, go thru and find just want I am grateful for. Let’s begin.
I will start with I am grateful to be waking up each day. I will be turning 60 in a few short months and that means the days before me are shorter than the days behind me and I am grateful that the Lord still has a plan for me.
I am grateful for my job. Then pendulum keeps shifting in the corporate world and I struggle to stay afloat with it all. Work life balance has shifted and corporations lead folks away from work life balance. Oh how I miss the days when companies really cared for their employees and their mental health.
As noted above I am grateful for reaching another milestone of hitting 60, which means retirement is in site.
I am grateful for my dogs and my Peloton, for without each, as in their own way help me with the severe anxiety I have struggled with for over a decade now.
I’d love to say I am thankful for friends, but I can’t. Since the dreaded 2019 world events, there are no friends, just me and my dogs. I’d even like to say I am thankful for family, although I have family, we are more of checkin on holidays and birthday family.
Overall I am hear and will see where 2025 takes me.
For all never take the small things for granted. Remember to live life with a bigger balance on LIFE. If you and your family are close make sure they know they are loved by you. NEVER be ashamed or afraid to say I love you.
As 2022 comes to a end, time is going by much faster and the years, well, reality shows is slowing. This means it’s time to a make change. This isn’t about a “new years resolution’ that will fade. Its about accountability, about learning to live without fear, about knowing it’s ok to not be ok, and accepting flaws or imperfections without self judgement.
2023 ~The year of you and me ’23… This will be a game changer. It’s time to get up and get out. Get out of my head. Get out of my comfort zone. Get out and live life to it’s fullest. To quote Andy Dufresne – Shawshank Redemption “Get busy living or get busy dying”. This year I choose to Get busy living!. When I created the Journey and Exploring blog its was an attempt to do just that get out and Journey and Explore all that I find. Well its about time I do that.
This year’s Journey and Exploring is all about
The Journey ~ Health and Fitness. As weight has always been my nemesis the goal is clear and precise, do all that can be done to get off blood pressure meds. The path to accomplish that is healthier, cleaner eating. Juicing, reducing fast food intake, monitoring sodium and protein intake to keep the liver and kidneys functioning. The Fitness will include utilizing the Peloton. Getting back on the bike for HITTs and the dreaded Treadmill for hills, runs and walks. Perhaps tracking to a potential 5k or 10k race before 2024. For those Peloton users wanting to share that experience my username workinoutwright
The Exploring – “KanAm Kelz” hitting the road on my new Ryker with my hubby. Exploring with other riders and groups. Going to places I never imagined I would go, let alone on a Ryker.
Accountability – document via blog, vlog all the good, the bad, the falls, the misses. the successes and victories,no mater how big or small they are.
In a year where life around us has returned to normal, my journey or should I say my journey’s struggles continue. Health anxiety & anxiety is real & living with it mentally is tacking and tiring.
I’ve battled with Covid and won, however the lingering effect it played on my internal organs continues. UTI discovered and resolved, while kidney and liver numbers jumped. UTI kept me from riding my peloton and still does. For folks wondering what exactly health anxiety is or how it plays in daily life here’s an example.. The health anxiety brings a mental fear of if I ride my bike or… exercise I will get another bad UTI. Anyone reading this will say that is ridiculous, medicine is there to clear it.. you know and even I know that, buy the anxiety in my brain puts the fear out there that weighs the rationale that the likely hood of it occurring if you follow specific steps is very…very low.
Other symptoms are going to the doctors or anything associated with drs fearing I will get news I am dying. Even typing that out the anxiety, heart rate goes up, sweating starts and racing thoughts start. Such as we all know we will leave this earth, & I personally believe in Christ, the anxiety takes over and defeats common sense.
Here I am today on a mission to call out to others you are not alone. I see you, I understand you. I am here if you need support. We just don’t seem to have the support we need or enough people in our lives that truly understand our fight. I don’t want to hide my anxieties any longer. I vow to work to over come the fear of rejection from others. The fear that if others know, I will lose them in my life. I vow to help others.
I am working on incorporating geocaching, getting back on my Peloton, and walking again.. Journey and Exploring to me is life.
I realize its been forever and a day since I visited my blog site and shared my Journey. Let me break out my thinking cap and start to reflect back on 2020 in my own way. The year didn’t really allow for much external Journeys and the only Exploring done was how to exist indoors. I did find a new type of Journey which was managed indoors.
Peloton Nation!- That’s right I joined the many thousands if not millions of people far and wide on a journey with a bike.. an indoor bike.
Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I would exercise on a stationary bike. I needed something that would allow me to do some means of a cardio workout and this seemed to be the best option at the time. As anyone that knew me, that was the only piece of equipment every time I visited the gym would I look at and say “nah -nope not doing that it’s way toooooooo boring”. Once I got the bike I quickly found out it wasn’t boring at all. Once I got over the 14 day sore bootay adapting to the seat syndrome, I discovered there are so many options and rides out there, Tabata, HIIT, Power Zones, Low Impact, numerous rides based on music genres and the instructors, I don’t think I have found one that isn’t good. Each instructor has found a way that fueld my desire to ride. They offer other workouts as well, Strenghth, Cardio, outdoor walks, I even have learned how to meditate and do some Yoga. .Yes the struggle is still real to get on and ride, I kick myself for struggling at all. To this day I have over 300 rides and closing in on 900 total workouts. Everyone has their own struggles when it comes to working out, whether it be something that happened with ones health, work or everyday life events. Finding time to jump on for 5-10 minutes can help over come anxities and stress. Never forget that part of each of our journeys are to be in the moment, live for today as we can’t control or are promised tomorrow, especially as we grow older. I just need to practice and focus on that advice 😉
A “Journey” it has been for sure.. The only exploring done by my part was which was the best value for me to exercise indoors. The end result was in May I got a very low costing Treadmill and I joined the Peloton Craze!
In June I started my “Journey” began with Peloton. I have completed over 8k minutes of biking; Yoga, Meditation, Cardio and Strength. Did it help my weight loss journey not really but it has made me mentally and physically stronger.. I am amazed by the Peloton world. Amazing Trainers, variety of them there are. Folks including myself have their favorites, such as Christine D’Ercole, Emma Lovewell, Hannah Corbin, Ally Love and Matt Wilpers. I get asked is it worth the money. I say this “I am saving money based on what I was paying out for a gym membership and working out more than I ever did going to a gym”. Yes it’s a lot of money, but in the long run if you are like me and high risk it’s well worth it. That really has been my journey for 2020 staying active, while remaining pretty much home bound.
September 2020 sadly had to say goodbye to my buddy, my pal, my best friend and companion my bear, my KodaBear. 12 amazingly wonderful and loving years he lost his battle with lymphoma 😦 He’s pictured here with his sister my whitedawg.
RIP my Bear-Bear
As I head into 2021 what Journey and Exploring expectations await?, I leave that open, but to help my sanity I will journal more in 2021 even if there isn’t much to be said capturing life and where it leads me and what I can share
As we are heading into Thanksgiving this is a time for us to give thanks to the journeys in our lives good or bad
This year has been a challenging year for my immediate family.. The year started off ok but quickly shifted as we lost my mother in law complications of pneumonia and heart failure and recently I found out lost a man who was so good to my mother to the nasty disease called Alzheimer’s. They both had their own journeys in their lives. Family, friends, work, adventures. One’s journey, my mother-in-law included having a son whom I call my husband and for that I am thankful.. The other journey, was a Lieutenant Allegheny County Police that built a bond and relationship with my mother. The love he provided her, I cannot even begin to thank.. It was a loss and a gain I can reflect back on happy times and not so happy times, knowing they were a small part of my journey.
Although this year starts a new chapter on celebrating or just enjoying a day – I would ask that all reflect back on the year and see if there is something that you recognize as part of your journey’s in life that you are truly “Thankful” for.
Be sure to tell all you know that hold a special place in your life’s journey that you love them
This months journeyandexploring takes me to Charlotte NC. It’s about 4hr plane ride or as I reference it 3 Major Crimes & 1 Mentalist episodes teehee.
Day 1 the arrival
First thing I noticed is it’s very green compared to the desert. And all their sporting venues are in “Uptown”. Uptown is the equivalent to other state/cities “Downtown”
Since I arrived late in the afternoon I just had time to grab something to eat with co-worker at restaurant called ‘Whiskey River’.
Whiskey & Maple Bacon wings & salad. Must say very tasty!
Back to hotel to relax settle in before work on Monday. My new Exploration includes Pokemon Go & “Uptown” is filled with Pokestops & Gyms. WOW! Plus Pokes’ not available west coast.
I realize its been a few months since I updated my blog.
The Journey is real. I started the year off with good intentions to be actively involved in blocking weekly or at the least monthly my journey for 2019. January started off with some health scares now that I realize it, even that is a part of my journey. Keeping it real I had some bleeding that lead to my first ever colonoscopy. For those still pending their first let me share with you, the prep of it is really the worst part and maybe waiting for them to take you back to get the procedure. But the procedure itself was bing-bang – boom and they tell you right there if it’s good or bad. I am fortunate the scare I had wasn’t anything and I was cleared to wait 10yrs for my next. That was one “whew” off my plate. But immediately following that I got hit with the really bad flu strain going around.. Took about a week and I felt better. By this time I am out of January and my January Journey was filled with health issues. Hello February I should be good to resume my Journey to healthier living…. “BUZZZ” wrong. As I was preparing to load up my Dawgs to head to cabin, I threw my back out and it was the stupidest thing that threw it out. I bent over to pickup a stick.. OMG —- I was barely able to make it to the bed. I was down for 2 weeks recovering. So sad to say February and my Journey got impacted yet again with health issues. Lordy – Lordy I am getting concerned because the progress I had made was slowly shifting the opposite way. March arrived and who knew that this year of all years, March would bring the worst winter weather the desert has seen in years. Feet of snow made it impossible to get out and walk and pounding rain in the valley had the same impact. By Spring Training the weather started to clear and I was able to pick up my Journey where I had left it in December. I felt so good I upped my daily step count from 10k to 15k. Let me tell you I thought while at the cabin 15k would be a piece of cake to achieve.. Y’all 15k is a lot and I mean a LOT of steps. I fight most days to achieve it and I am running about 80% acheivability getting them. I have even started to incorporate jogging back into my routine.. The miles are slow paced but I am at 14:50 per mile from almost 18:00. So I’ll take it. As my dad used to say slow and steady wins the race. I would be remised if I didn’t mention as part of my Exploring I am closer to the Lord than ever. Every day I spend some time reading and getting closer to what his plans are. Since getting closer to the Lord I have found that my stress levels have decreased, my fears have been lessened and I am getting to a place where I am happier with myself internally – the struggle is still real and I seek guidance to accept what I see in the mirror. The Lord has gotten me thru the worst part of 2019 and I know he will continue to bring me thru anything I run into Philippians 4:13 I can do all things thru Christ who strengthen me.
Journey and Exploring 