Tag: introverts

Feeling Better Journey

Getting Older Bites, But We Don’t Have To Let It Keep Biting!

When I was young I could do anything. Well, I thought I could. I didn’t think about nutrition and exercise and never thought I would. But then I got older and realized….bumps and bruises take longer to heal, recovery after a workout takes longer, and nutrition has a huge impact on how you feel.

I went through menopause rather early. By my 50th birthday I was officially post menopausal. Hooray! Let’s be honest with each other, having a monthly cycle is aggravating on many levels. But I’m done with that and rejoice in the fact every dang day! But with this joyous change, I needed to make some changes in my life if I was going to “feel good”.

First, it took a while for me to fully understand why my body stiffened if I sat too long. But, a friend of mine made some major changes in her nutrition. When she told me what she had changed and how she felt better, I decided I would do some research and see if the changes she made were right for me. Let me be clear, this is personal research. Neither one of us is a doctor, nurse, dietician, or any other medical personnel. After doing my research, I changed my diet. Did I do the exact same thing my friend did? Absolutely not! We are two different individuals and therefore needed to adjust our diets to our own personal needs.

Second, I was not sleeping well. It wasn’t night sweats or hot flashes (I didn’t have much of that at any stage during menopause), but I was HOT! This blew my mind since I am always cold. But at night, my body temperature would rise and I couldn’t sleep. So I researched what I could do and came across a solution I thought would work….the ChiliPad by SleepMe (formerly known as Ooler). It was a total game changer! I can literally set a schedule for the temperature that allows me to climb into a warm bed, then gradually cool down after I’ve fallen asleep to keep my body temp at a comfortable temperature, and then wake up to a gentle warming. I sleep soundly all night!

Last, I noticed I was lacking the energy I used to have. Now this was a combination of not enough quality sleep, poor diet, and lack of exercise. I solved the first two issues, but I am not one to go into a gym and lift weights, take a yoga  or aerobics class, and I’m certainly not a jogger/runner. So what were my options? I live in one of the most walkable cities on the planet. I started walking. Then I got a dog and I started training/playing with the dog (training/playing with you dog(s) should most definitely be counted as exercise). And while Athena and I are out and about, we take breaks to stretch, drink more water, or maybe just sit and watch the world go by.

The end result is I feel better because I’m taking more care with my diet, sleep and exercise! My body doesn’t stiffen up quite so much, I’m getting a minimum of 7 hours of quality sleep every night, and I have more energy! WooHoo!!!! I’ve shared all of this with all of you, because I will be writing about all of this more in depth as we go along. Feeling good is a never ending journey and we’re all on that journey. We may take different paths, but we’re all headed in the same direction….feeling good. Getting older may bite, but we don’t have to let it keep biting us! So, what have you done, or are thinking about doing to feel better? Let me know.

What I'm Doing

I Have Been Left Unsupervised

My Hunny Bun works in IT, as I briefly described in a previous post. During the pandemic he was able to continue working from home. But after the pandemic and his offices were open again, he had to start going back into the office three days a week. Not a problem! We adjusted to his working from home full time during the pandemic, so adjusting to his having to go into a office three days a week was no big deal. It actually works out great for us.

On Monday, he came in from working at his office and informed me that he had to go out of town to his company’s second headquarters in Florida. He would be flying out the next night. OK, short notice but not a problem. My mind immediately went into….what do I need to do that would be easier while he is out of town for three days? Cull and organize while listening to an audiobook without needing earbuds!

So here I am, culling and organizing our small apartment. It’s time to donate items we don’t use or won’t use again to an organization that can make good use of them. It’s also time to trash items even charitable organizations wouldn’t take. Why is this time easier when he’s out of town? Because I won’t have to rush. And I won’t have to answer, “What are you doing with that?” I also won’t have to listen to, “But I use that”, or “But I wear that” when I know damn well that he doesn’t use or wear whatever item is in my hands.

I am not the only one who waits for times like these to cull and organize, am I? Come on, admit it! You also wait until the spouse or kids are going to be gone for a significant amount of time so you can cull and organize without rushing and/or listening to complaints and questions about what you’re doing. It’s ok, you can tell me. It’ll be our secret.

What I'm Doing

The TV, Hunny Bun, & Me

My husband is an awesome human being. He’s incredibly smart, incredibly generous, and incredibly supportive. He works in Information Technology. He started in the field BEFORE the internet was a thing, and the cloud wasn’t even a gleam in the eye of anyone yet. And although he works in IT and is extremely smart, some tech totally confuses him.

A few years ago he started waxing poetic on how frustrated he was with how high our cable bill was when we only used maybe 10% of what we were paying for. So I suggested we cut the cable and go with streaming. His response? “What about football and baseball? I want to be able to watch sports, and we can’t if we go with a streaming service.” We eventually did cut the cable. Now we have streaming services tailored to the content we’re interested in.

Enter our “smart TV” phase! He wanted the latest tech in TVs. We got the latest tech. Then he got totally frustrated with the set-up process.  I guess he didn’t realize we would need to install the apps for our specific streaming services. This is where I come in. I’m far more tech savvy when it comes to navigating the streaming universe. I took over the set-up and got us logged into our services. He was happy. No more cable and he can still watch sports and movies, or he can binge watch entire series like ‘The Morning Show’ on Apple TV+.

However, every so often I will hear him say, “What the f****?” Whenever I hear that, I stop whatever I’m doing and go find out what the problem is. But what happens if I’m already in bed and sound asleep? Rather than wake me up, he takes a picture with his phone and backs out of whatever he’s in. The next morning/day, he sends me the picture via a text.

Usually, I will have a solution for whatever he shows me. Not last night. Hunny Bun sent me the following picture: 

I have no idea why we would need to update anything on the TV when we are “0” days out of date! It did give us two options to update a TV that is not “out of date”. So, I asked, “Did you restart the TV?” He told me he did what he always does when confused by a message. He backed out of whatever he was in, then clicked on one of our streaming apps and continued to watch TV.

I know we are not the only household where this kind of thing happens. What kinds of weird messages has your latest tech sent you?

Athena's Adventures What I'm Doing

Going For A Walk

I live in one of the most walkable cities in the world, Washington, DC. But going for a walk, especially with Athena, takes some prep work.

First, we have to go out at the right time if we really want to enjoy our walk. This means getting up early and getting out before everyone else. Lucky for Athena, I’m an early riser. Our preferred time to go for a walk is between 4 and 5 a.m. We’re definitely up and out before most of the rest of the city. This allows us to avoid runners/joggers, cyclists, and people riding those irritating scooters.

Second, I have to prep for the season. Right now, we’re heading out of Autumn into Winter. This means I need to have my thermal underwear, thick socks, thick leggings, a thick top or jacket, gloves, a hat, and ear bags. All of that is just to keep me warm. Athena is good with just her fur coat. This means that before I go to bed at night put together what I need the next morning and stack it neatly in the bathroom where I will change. If the weather forecast calls for rain or snow, well we have to add appropriate outer wear for that.

After getting my clothes ready, I need a couple of other things because Athena and I are going to be out for a while. What do we need? A water bottle for me, a water bottle for Athena, and the treat bag full of dried beef liver for her. These things are also prepped and made ready the night before.

Last, we need lighting. Athena wears a lighted harness, we use a lighted extendable leash, and I add “runners lights” to me. Yes, we live in an urban environment that is well lit but there are places where the lighting isn’t so good. We need to make sure runners/joggers, cyclists, and scooter riders can see us if we’re in a place that isn’t so well lit.

After all that, plus something I’m sure I’ve forgotten to mention, we’re ready to go for a walk. Now, which route do we take? Do we walk along the Potomac River? Maybe we should walk through all the monuments on the National Mall? We might even walk down toward the Pentagon and back up. No matter which route we take, we’ll walk a minimum of 3 miles. That’s a minimum! We’ve been known to walk 9 or more miles in a day.

Do you take walks? If so, where and how far do you walk? Do you go with a buddy, or do you go alone? Let me know in the comments.

What I'm Doing

My Love/Hate Relationship With The Internet

My feelings on the internet have not evolved over the years. I started out saying, “The internet is the best thing to be invented, and it’s also the worst thing ever invented!” I sincerely doubt that opinion will ever change. I will always have a love/hate relationship with the internet.

With that being said, here I am with another blog about anything and everything that appeals to me. And I love it. I love being able to share all my adventures with all of you. What I hate about it is coming up with graphics, or at the very least, that won’t infringe on any copyrights. But I’m not a “visual” person. I’m a “language” person. Don’t show me a diagram of something to build and expect me to be able to do it. Show me the actual instructions written out.

So how do I overcome the issue of graphics for this site? Artificial Intelligence to the rescue! I came up with some pretty good images, but my friend did even better. Both images in my header are thanks to her. She’s more of a visual person and she had a lot of fun creating a lot of images for me. She saved me a ton of time, and I no longer fear going bald from pulling out my hair.

As helpful as AI can be for people who can’t even draw a stick figure, I get extraordinarily frustrated by it. Social media is inundated with images and videos created using AI. And they look real! You can’t believe anything you see anymore…literally! Yes, AI has a place and can be useful. It can also be dangerous and harmful. One more thing to add to the love/hate list of the internet for me.

Building this site was an exercise in frustration. Creating the social media accounts for it was not quite as frustrating. And using AI to help me get the look I was going for was educational. What about you? Do you have a love/hate relationship with the internet and AI? Are you frustrated by the amount of AI you see on social media? Leave me a comment and let me know if it’s just me, or if others out there feel the same way.

About

Who We Are

Welcome to Introverting Out Loud. This site is dedicated to all the introverts that would rather stay home with a good book, binging something on TV or watching a movie, but want to have adventures as well. You’re not alone! We’re everywhere and we’re taking over!

 I enjoy a great many other things that require me putting down my book or turning off the TV and  leaving the comfort of my home. I love to go and see new places, to re-visit places I’ve already been, going to a movie or seeing a Broadway show. But regardless of what I’m up to, I keep myself apart from the chaos of others around me. That is what I call Introverting Out Loud.

Sometimes my adventures happen inside my home or neighborhood. Walking Athena (my German Shepherd mix), cooking, exercising at home, and just general day to day life is an adventure for me. Jut like most everyone else of my generation, day to day living is most definitely an adventure.

So come along with me on my journey of balancing being an introvert with adventures in the real world. Also, follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.