May 2025

                                                Blessed Beltane

Belthane is a Celtic festival celebrated on May 1st, marking the transition from winter to summer and welcoming in the summer season. This festival is strongly linked to fertility, with practices aimed at ensuring the well-being of livestock, crops, and humans. These rituals are usually celebrated by partaking in bonfires and purifying protective powers through song, dance, and storytelling. 

Adventures!

Friends and Family:

I was fortunate enough to attend a Banzai class with my brother-in-law. Banzai is Japanese for "Tree in Pot." So I was actually able to put together a small zen garden of succulent plants. I can't care for an actual tree because Juno LOVES to try to nip at plants outside on the porch. This was my way of having an indoor plant that he would leave alone. 

My DNA test results came back! I thought that was pretty neat!

I have also successfully gauged my ears from a size 6 to 4. My ultimate goal is to get to.

I'm very proud of one of my nieces for graduating from high school! Those kids mean the world to me! There have been other stressful family matters, but some things are best left private and not on the internet.

Colorado: 

At the beginning of this month, I was able to experience my first-ever trip to Colorado! It was so beautiful, but also reminded me of Utah in many ways. We started in Colorado Springs for Anime Onsen and then spent our last day in Denver for Meow Wolf. We were fortunate enough to be able to bring one of my co-workers along with us to join in on the fun, as well as get Juno to go too! He was anxious on our way down and the first night, but he adapted super fast to the car and hotel life. I guess I can describe my trip in pictures with titles, so here it goes: 

I was also fortunate enough to meet a Twitch friend of 5 years! We didn't even skip a beat! Hanging out in person felt just like our gaming calls! I love her so much! I asked her permission to share this here. I'm trying to just stick to photos of me, Sheldon, and Juno, just for the privacy of my friends and family. This, however, was an exception because it was such a special occasion!

We had Dinner at BJ's (Which in Utah they changed the name to JB's). I got an alcoholic beverage in a bathtub and even got to keep it! 

My souvenir haul to bring home! 

Car troubles ironically happened after everything was said and done. My check engine light came on on our way down. Heading back, we hit a pretty good pothole that chipped my hub cap and bent my rim. I had to pull from my savings to get new tires and rims. It was about time anyway, I last got mine in 2016, and six years is about the minimum mark to change them. My spare turned out to be 9 years old, so that definitely got replaced as well. They bent the old rim to the new spare since I wouldn't be driving that as much. 

I was a little frustrated with my check engine light. I called Jiffy Lube and asked if they could look at it, and told them the codes, and they said yes. When I arrived, they refused to even look at it and said they couldn't do those codes. I wasted my time thanks to whoever answered the phone and told me yes. 

I ended up taking it to Burt Brothers, who took almost all day to fix, but they were able to get it done. Now I have to replace my hub caps and I'm golden. I just built my savings up this year, but I guess that's what it's for, emergencies just like this. 

Language Learning:

  I am on day 239 of Duolingo Spanish! That's all! I've lost a little bit of study motivation, in all honesty. I've just had a lot going on. But I paid for one year of it, so if I keep at my daily Streak, I'll at least know a little bit of words and phrases. I will say that some of the lessons have been repeating themselves, and that also gets a little boring. 

Gaming:

Sheldon and I are at the end of Enshrouded. We beat the end game dragon, so now all we have are the side quests that are part of the new update. This means he has to commit and try Final Fantasy XIV for me! I'm really excited because I have a love-hate for the game. Sheldon loves all of the non-MMO Final Fantasy games. He also used to be super into World of Warcraft. So I'm curious to see what he thinks about this one. 

Reading:

I've slowed down on my reading adventures this month. It was my adhd hyperfixation, and now it's kind of like having too much sugar and getting a tummy ache. I'm still listening at work to have something keep my brain stimulated, but not so much at home or on walks with Juno.

Divergent: I was able to listen to all three books in the series, and I will have to say I was pretty hooked! It's way different from the movie and much better than I ever expected it to be!  It's super similar to The Uglies series, and I think that's why I enjoyed the series so much. 

Percy Jackson: Guess who FINALLY got their hands on the last Percy Jackson book?! I'm pretty excited because the waiting list TOOK FOREVER! However, knowing that there is a whole other Blood of Olympus series taking place in the same universe to read after this has me a little less sad. It's not really a favorite book series, but it's not bad either. I'm enjoying it, as you have read.

The Raven Boys: This book was a little hard for me to follow at the start, but once I got the characters down, I was able to enjoy it. I'm interested to see how the series plays out. 

Gideon the Ninth:  I loved the writing style of this book. The author had a funny, sarcastic attitude throughout. The only hard part was that there were a ton of characters, and I had to stop trying to keep track of who was who. I would like to read it again when I can find or make a reference, so I can imagine and immerse myself in the story better. 

Anime/K-Dramas:

The drama I watched last month, called Extra Ordinary You, has a sister sequel out now! Only the main male actor is in it, but it plays on some similar ideas from the first show, but at the same time is totally different! 

Concerts: 

The Used

I'm super stoked for the opportunity to have seen The Used live! Little does my older sister Masha know that she got me into a lot of the early 2000s punk rock music. She loved bands like The Used, Linkin Park, My Chemical Romance, Green Day, Bowling For Soup, Blink-182, etc. As I got older, I of course found my poly-jamorous music taste that I have now, but she definitely gave me a starting intro into my music taste. 

I went solo to this concert. There's something so independent about being able to go do something that you want to do without the fear of being or looking alone. At a concert, no one cares; we are all here for the same reason. I found a nice cozy spot on the balcony by the bar and was able to watch the show. It was their 25th anniversary tour! I hope they post their merch after their tour because there was a jacket I wanted! 
If you buy merch at any venue, the venue takes half of the profit, vs. buying it on the band's website, where they get 100% of the profit. 

There was a nice couple by the bar that let me stand next to them. The girl was so sloshed that she occasionally forgot that she was talking to me. The guy was one of those die-hard fans who had to tell everyone he was a fan since he was six years old, and he's a bigger fan than anyone there. Whatever stroked his ego, I guess. 

They did a three-night tour of each album that got them on the map as a band. I went the second night because that album is what got me started into their music. The guy next to me tried arguing that the third night was the best album, and he doesn't get why everyone claims their second album is the best. Everyone has their own opinions, even if they're wrong hehe. I'll show the three albums below.

One of my favorite songs by them to look up is called "All That I've Got."

Beach Bunny

Beach Bunny was a total blast to be able to see live! They have a unique aesthetic that fits their music so well! I was able to to go this concert with my cousin and our friend. As much as I love my independence at a concert, getting to show up and leave as I please. They are also pretty good when shared with the right company! I was able to splurge and get myself their new album on a record to add to my collection!

One of my favorite songs by them to look up is called "Prom Queen."

Mental Health Status:

 This one is pretty simple. I'm just taking things one day at a time. I've learned that it's important for me to force at least one day off where I stay home and don't go anywhere at all, just to make sure I have that rest. 

I'm also challenging myself to try to take Juno on one big walk once a week if my chronic pain allows me. It's good for both of us to get the exercise. Sometimes we go to the trails and explore, while other times I take him to a park to walk around for a few hours. Some weeks, I have been able to get up in the morning and take us on those two-mile walks we were doing. 

I have successfully started to feel comfortable enough to drive us down the street to a small pet shop. Juno has gotten pretty spoiled there, and the staff LOVE him! They even said he was an official employee. 

I'm also challenging myself to get more comfortable with my driving PTSD by trying a new local restaurant once a week. There are several places near me that I want to try, but I have felt too anxious to drive to. So far, I have been able to try lunch at Senior Pollo Mexican Grill and Simply Sushi! They both were really delicious! Sheldon was able to take us on a date to The Bambino, which is a restaurant where there used to be the Vincent Drug store. That's where they filmed The Sandlot movie, where the kids bought baseballs. Their wood-fired pizzas were named after some of the movie characters and were pretty delicious too! They also had Macarone ice cream, and I'm now going to have a problem not getting more! 

 I also took a small detour to check out the Cactus and Tropicals by me, and I'm totally in love with them! I kind of want to see if I could work there part-time and learn how to care for my plants better. They also allow dogs, so I'm going to have to take Juno there with me! I'm thinking of trying one of their classes, such as sound bath with the plants or yoga with the plants, etc. 

 Physical Health Status:

Nasal Surgery Healing:

My appointment went really well. They used a camera to see how I'm healing and said that I still have some inflammation at the top of my nasal way, but it's normal and looking well. There is one section of stitches that have not dissolved yet, but look well. I have a follow-up in October to see how the final healing goes. It feels really nice to be able to breathe. As much as the surgery sucked. It was worth it!

 Dietician:

Due to my chronic pain, my doctor recommended I see a dietitian to lose weight. After telling the nutritionist that I've tried diets such as intermittent fasting and having overall food guilt, she suggested I read a book called Intuitive Eating. The authors have a podcast that they recommended checking out.  She said to stop checking the scale every day because it's bad for anyone's mental health, and that it's best to check it once a week on the same day at the same time. 

So far, the book has been an interesting read. It's about breaking the mindset of dieting. When we start worrying about time frames to eat in or counting calories we intake, we start to starve ourselves and mentally/emotionally abuse ourselves with the idea of restricting eating. A lot of college studies have been done on it, but now several diet plans have been trying to claim they are part of the intuitive eating trend. If it's a diet of any kind, then it's not intuitive eating. Studies have shown that binge eating is also related to the diet mentality.

I almost forgot that I paid for a full year of Bodi by Beach Body, but my dietitian is happy because it has a variety of workouts I can get back into. 

We went over my particular needs, such as my body type, lifestyle, job, and so on, so we could figure out a plan that works for me. 

She's booked out two months at a time, but that's okay. It gives me time to adjust to what we went over. A lot of it was basic, such as getting your daily diet of fruits and veggies, and protein. She warned me to not go too hard on the fruits because they have natural sugars that can be bad in too much quantity. 

She wants me to use a website called Eatwell. Every recipe is approved by a dietitian.

She also mentioned how having just caffeine alone for breakfast will only spike my blood sugar, so even if I'm not hungry, I should eat something in the morning. She suggested plain Greek yogurt with chia seeds and blueberries. 

I usually buy frozen vegetables because they go bad too quickly. I don't have the energy to meal prep the same food every day, nor cook, clean, and get groceries every week. I've tried food delivery services such as Hello Fresh and Blue Apron. My only qualm is that by the time I prep the food and cook the food, I'm just too exhausted to want to eat it, let alone clean up everything after. That might sound lazy, but my neurodivergent brain needs fast and simple. Cooking is not fun to me; it is an exhausting chore just like cleaning. I've tried pre-made meal services like Factor in the past, so I might look into doing something such as that again if I can budget my finances for it. 

Chiropractor

In January, I tried to get my health together by going to a chiropractor and getting acupuncture done once a month. That goal hit a pause due to finances and finding someone who takes my insurance. 

I went to one near me who had no idea what he was talking about. He thought the natural hip bone bumps on my back were scar tissue. They also had a pre-paid plan that wasn't in my interest. 

I used to go to a chiropractor monthly at the Murray Sports Mall until 2020, but he became very anti-mask and anti-vaccine. He always hassled me for wearing a mask, which should have been the other way around since I was the customer. He also would try to talk me out of seeing a doctor for certain things and try natural remedies. 

Look, I'm pretty hippy myself. I'm big on trying to do herbal medicine before man-made drugs. However, I have a limit to that. If I have a cold, I'm going to be taking over-the-counter meds. I will try things to better my health so I'm not always taking Ibuprofen or Tylenol, etc, but sometimes it's necessary. 

I'm pretty grateful to have taken a leap and tried again. I'm now going to Revive Sport & Spine, which has impressed me. The doctor there is very adamant that adjustments alone aren't enough. So we went over my physical therapy, and he gave me some strength training exercises to add to them and better help my chronic pain. I'm at the point where if I don't do my physical therapy, then I feel it, so I think that's improvement!

Accupuncture

My favorite place for acupuncture is Wasatch Community Acupuncture. They have a sliding scale payment plan to help everyone who needs pain relief! I really like going here because it's just so relaxing! You sit in a recliner chair, they put the needles in, and you can lie back and rest for as long as you need. I fell asleep during my last session. I had my earbuds in with an audiobook and zoned out. 

Physical Therapy:

My physical therapy has made progress, and the more I have been adamant about doing my daily exercises. At our last appointment, we went over a new program to better help my plantar fasciitis and Achilles tendinitis. 

The biggest thing is monitoring what pain is lasting for more than a few days and what pain is just basic soreness from the exercise. 

Health Wrap Up:

My biggest challenge is remembering that it's all about feeling better. If I hydrate, eat right, sleep enough, do my daily PT, and actually get some physical exercise in, then my overall mental and physical health feels better. The tiny things we do and don't do can affect how we feel so easily.

I was so afraid to go to the doctor for fear of being belittled or not believed. Now I'm braver about finding doctors who will listen and help me. I'm really glad I took the leap and trusted myself on this journey!

Final Thoughts:

I know most of my postings are positive and upbeat. It's for my own self-reminder of appreciating the small successes and goals that I have set for myself. I'm still human,  I'm emotional, stressed, depressed, anxious, tired, exhausted, you name it. I  believe that the more we try to focus on positive energy, the easier it is to attract it. The same goes for if you're stuck only looking at the negative.