March 6, 2025 Life Update

Hello!

I thought I'd write a little life update.

Today is my 30 year anniversary with The Ohio State University.  It's kind of funny that I only worked for two and a half hours this morning have the rest of the day as vacation on my work anniversary.  

Since I had the time, I cleaned and redecorated the bookshelf in my home office. This is always in the background when I have virtual work meetings. 

I mentioned in a previous post that I am training for a  powerlifting meet with other women from Steadfast. We received our training program this week. It is a three days a week max effort program for Back Squat, Bench Press, and Deadlift.  One of the women who did the fall Xpand Your Limits meet let us know that we should train with what I've typically referred to as the "men's barbell" which is 45 pounds as that is what we'll use at the meet.  Oh my goodness, ten pounds doesn't sound like much but I found getting the bar out of the holder a bit unwieldy.  I was glad that no one else was in the gym at the time! 

To say that I have a lot to learn is an understatement.  I am so far out of my comfort zone that I would need to use a GPS to return to my comfort zone! 

It just so happens that training for the powerlifting meet coincides with the Crossfit Open.  We find out on Thursday afternoon what our workout will be and then sign up for a Friday night or Saturday morning heat where we complete the workout with a judge and then submit the score in the Crossfit
app.  

I feel like everything that I've ever mentioned in prior posts about finding balance and setting a schedule has gone out the window but it's not a bad thing.  I am blessed to have this opportunity and to have a supportive group of women training for this meet.  This past week, I took one rest day.   I did the Monday and Wednesday Crossfit classes.  Monday's Crossfit class taxed my already sore legs from Saturday's Open workout as well as my shoulders. Based on what I've learned to this point, I know powerlifting training and the Crossfit Open (this week and next week) should be my priority.  I still want to do some Crossfit but I need to look at the workouts and chose what will be less impactful to my powerlifting training.  I'm 52 years old with a history of fibromyalgia so my body doesn't recover as quickly as someone in her 20s or 30s with no muscular/nerve related afflictions.  

My time for blogging and social media have also decreased.  Aside from powerlifting training, I have been busier at work.  I am reposting previous content and also doing more "short form" posts such as an image with a scripture. As of this writing, I have 54 followers on my Santini Serenity Facebook page. This does not account for everyone who reads my blog as I share blog posts through several social media platforms.  I'm thankful that there are scheduling tools that help with this!

My son has been home for Spring Break from college.  Our cat Patty has enjoyed having someone from whom she can beg for attention.  Jon III cooked a delicious chicken and pasta dish for dinner on Monday night; I haven't done any crockpot meals this week as we've had a lot of leftovers from pasta and meatballs that I made during the weekend as well as the meal J3 made.

I believe these are the highlights since my last life update.  If you made it this far, thank you for reading.  I appreciate you!