The past few months have felt like a whirlwind. I’ve settled into my new job, which definitely keeps me on my toes—never a dull moment and always something new. Soon, we’ll be testing equipment in the van to ensure I can work while I’m out exploring the West again. If all goes well, Lylah and I will be back on the road, embracing the freedom of adventure. We’re both thrilled to get back out there! While having a home and routine is nice, this past year off has intensified that travel itch.

Once you catch the travel bug, it’s hard to shake. This time, we’re trying something different: we’ll be stopping at ski and snowboard resorts in the West for a bit of a tour. Dad is joining us, and I can’t wait to explore those spots and improve my snowboarding skills. For him, it’ll be an exciting chance to shred some fresh powder and check out the places you’ve recommended.

We’re still finalizing our itinerary, but I’m eager to discover what’s out there. If anyone has recommendations, I’m all ears! I’m particularly hoping to explore more of Oregon, so please share any thoughts on must-visit places.

In a few weeks, I’ll be heading back to P.A. for a quick weekend getaway. I’m really looking forward to exploring the city more and spending time with my boyfriend’s family. While it’s a shorter trip than we’d prefer, we’ll take what we can get for now. I’m sure we’ll be back sooner rather than later!

Before that, we’ll be working on some wallpaper to finish up our hallway so we can mud and paint it to our liking. We’re eager to wrap up this project, especially since we have a whole bathroom remodel on the horizon. I know it’ll be worth it, but it’ll also involve a learning curve. I’m picking up so many new skills in remodeling that I hope to use in the future, especially when I find a fixer-upper of my own.

For now, I’m enjoying the freedom of traveling in my van and keeping my eyes open for what’s next. Who knows—this could lead to something exciting that I can build upon. Only time will tell what lies ahead, and maybe someday I’ll get to share those experiences with you all and what I’ve learned along the way.

While I have been home I have been helping my boyfriend out with some home renovations. It's been slow going and we take breaks in between projects but so far it's been mostly painting rooms and throwing away items that have been hanging out in his house from past roommates. This weekend we finally decided to start on a big project that has been long overdue. 

In the hallway, someone decided to go ahead and PAINT over the wallpaper. And it is old wallpaper from the 1970s. The trouble with this is that the paint has made it impossible to get through to the wallpaper and in some places you can see the wallpaper coming through if you look in the right places. After months of talking about it and then deciding to just go for it, we got a steamer (rented) and supplies to start scrapping it off. First of course we used the scoring tool and put little holes in the paint and then started to steam away. 

The first thing that happened was that the paint was not coming off. It was basically making us having to work 10 times harder to get even to the wallpaper. After some trial and error, I figured out a way to get the paint off. We needed it to bubble and then peel the top layer and then steam the paper and then it comes off like a dream. The issue though is that it was taking a million years just to get the paint off. It became apparent that we were in some trouble with time here. 

So we decided to try some other things to see if maybe we can get the paint to come off faster. What we discovered (and keep this in mind folks if you run into this issue.) is you take paint thinner put a layer on the paint and then leave it overnight to dry it creates a glue-like consistency. Leave it overnight and then come in with the steamer and steam a section. When you do that you then create a small hole in the paint and start to peel chunks away to get to the wallpaper too then scrap it off. It's a process that we found by accident and while it's not ideal it is faster than how we were doing it before. Of course that doesn't make it any easier for us and we are still struggling with anger issues and trying our best to hold back our fists but hey, we will get there. 

So this is your friendly reminder to NOT paint over wallpaper...ever...or you may be stabbed multiple times.. just saying. 

In a little less than two weeks we are finally returning to one of the best events that my father and I have attended when it comes to pinball. We are going back to the VPS show and I am so pumped to go back. It's a three-day event where you pay one price to play over 500 machines. My boyfriend will also be attending with us and I am ready to watch him become overwhelmed by the number of choices that he will have to choose from as well as dive him into more of what I grew up with. It's been years since Dad and I first went and I have a video of that experience here for you guys to rewatch from my YouTube channel. 

At that time it was "pre- covid" and after what happened in Michigan (Which I'm sure you're familiar with) we decided to stay away from this event. Now that the masks and vaccines bs is over we have finally decided to go back and enjoy ourselves in this immersive experience once again. This year my bf and I are staying at a state park for the weekend (which I have never been to) and will be enjoying the fresh air while Dad stays at a hotel. Of course, I'm hoping to video more of this event and share it with you all just as I did with the one from pre-coid. I can't wait to see what machines they have and to play them all to my heart's content. 

White Water and Fun House here I come. I'm ready to play

Recently I started going to see a MMT. I decided this year to give massages a try to see if it would help with long-term relief after I did lots of exercise during the week. It started to become apparent that I needed some help when my foot got injured and I was having trouble with heel striking. When I moved back over to the five-finger shoes it gave me some relief but I noticed that the impact from the Lems shoes I used was more intense than I realized so I got a massage a few months back to see if that would maybe help my muscles. The first one I got was normal, nothing fancy really and I felt the relief instantly but after my first run prior to the massage, I felt the strain back on my foot and muscles. 

So I turned to a different approach. Deep Tissue Massage. I've never had one done and this guy I met walked me through the process. He would use cups to help get my muscles back into place. The idea is that the cup brings up the muscle, you constrict the muscle and then relax it and it makes the muscle go back to where it's supposed to. It's an interesting and intense process. Turns out my right side is super wound up and the muscles in my foot need more work than I thought. He let me know that it's not fractured and its not a bruised bone but it could be due to muscle weakness since it usually is sore after I do Long runs. I just got my second session done this past weekend and I feel much better than I have in a long while. 

I've never invested in this sort of therapy before so I didn't know what to expect but to find some long-term relief is exciting and really gives me hope that I can improve my running, climbing, and just general health. I want to feel good while running and I want to find a way to give myself relief from my foot. I certainly don't want that to be long-term and cause more injury while I run the half marathon in September. 

Have any of you done massage therapy? What did you think? Let me know your thoughts.