WRD: Still on a Flexibility Theme

It’s been another busy week. And I don’ t mean in regards to work. Yes I had to go into the office Monday and Tuesday but it wasn’t as stressful as last week. But let’s dive into all that in a minute. I’m recapping and joining in the weekly run down, trying to at least stick to keeping the blog up to date.

Deborah and Kim are the amazing hosts for the Weekly Run Down! Feel free to join in as well to wrap up your week in fitness!

WEEK 31

Plan vs. Actual

Monday – 3.25KM walk, GLI gym 1 hr intake – no workout (appt w/different PT), 3.5KM biking
Tuesday – 3KM walk (office day) to and from train station
Wednesday – 3KM walk, W6R1 run, 6KM, GLI 1 hour, gym 55 min
Thursday – 2.22KM walk, gym
Friday – 2.75KM walk, W6R2 run , gym 55 min
Saturday – 2.5KM walk, parkrun in Alkmaar 5KM, 17/17 Dutch parkruns done!
Sunday 2KM walk, long run W6R3, 1.4KM w/u walk, 10KM run (!!!)

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Monday – Back at work and during our team meeting we were told that we had to use up our 2019 vacation days that we carried over before July 1st. Um. How was I going to do that with people taking holidays over the next couple weeks? By taking my last 2 days off this week of course – haha! So that gave me a totally different perspective for this week. Work two days and then have the rest of the week off (Friday I’m always off).

Workout: RPM.85 – finally back on the spin bike. Nice sweaty session.

you know it’s a good workout when your mascara is all over your face.

Tuesday – Pretty uneventful at work which gave me the opportunity to get some stuff done that had been on the back burner.

At home we were preparing a bit for the upcoming maintenance in our building; we’ve had contractors in doing pipe cleaning and re-coating in the entire flat. Last month we couldn’t use our kitchen sink for two days, which was fine. This week we were preparing for now shower/toilet/bathroom sink/ washer for two days. So I made sure to do all the laundry we had and showered before I went to bed.

Workout: 5KM run after work

Wednesday – The contractors showed up at 8:00 with a chemical toilet for us to use over the coming days. As necessary as it is, it still sucks a bit. I spent a lot of today doing administration and sorting out changes with my bank account (I switched banks after 26 years!) and finances.

Workout: 5KM run with Ron after he was finished with work (spit baths in the kitchen…)

Thursday – more sorting through admin and getting some things organised at home. Also put quite a few more clothes items up for sale (on Vinted) and went through more boxes. We went to see a house (on the Schoolstraat – I talked about it last week) and while it was a super cute place, it would just take too much effort to make changes (we’d have to put the kitchen in and there was no washer hookup; I’ve been through that already when I lived in the Hague and that can be really expensive to have done). It was also a “bovenwoning” so up a flight of stairs to the main part of the house and up another flight to the bedrooms. Oh. And only one WC on the first level. Um. No. Not going downstairs in the middle of the night to pee! Certainly not when I’m older. Too bad.

Workout: 7KM after the house visit and before dinner. The guys were also done with the pipes so we got to shower again! YAY!

Friday– Today we saw two houses; one in the morning which would be an absolute dream to live in; perfect location, perfectly and professionally modernised on the inside (but originally built in 1906) and a “benedenwoning” so there was a little deck outside from the dining area and a little yard . You can look through the photos here . Honestly we could see ourselves living here, but I’m sure a lot of people are interested in it so we’ll see…

Also, y’all? It’s like a 5 min walk to Sonsbeek park…

The second place was also really nice and very close to where we were in the morning. Same great neighborhood and same older houses. This one was a “bovenwoning” though and … there’s asbestos in the attic. It was a little pricier than the one this morning and there were some things that made it less great than the first.

the view up the street from the 2nd place we looked at today

Workout: Nada. Well unless you count going to get more boxes out of storage and sorting out more things that could either go in the bin or to the thrift store.

Saturday – lots of organising going on still. Ron’s sold quite some things that he collected back in the day (think music related items with autographs) and things we just don’t need anymore (speakers, folding chairs, etc). It’s kind of great to get rid of stuff! I don’t know why I have to hold on to things for so long!

Workout: Not-parkrun parkrun! 5KM all in the park across the street and a couple streets over. It was kind of a scorcher too, by Dutch standards.

Sunday – We skipped the long run again because today was all about cleaning the house and making photos for a realtor of our apartment. We are working with a company that represents investors to buy our place (they usually convert it to student housing) but if that doesn’t work out any time soon we want to have other options. I didn’t want to take photos just by moving junk from one place to another so it had to be cleaned as well. Good thing Ron and I are in sync so the job was done by both of us tackling half the house each.

Workout: Nothing. Well. I was definitely sweating by cleaning, mopping, hoovering…

Welcome to my clean living room. how long will it last though?

Week overview :I didn’t meet my strength-training goal this week but I did do RPM and got 22KM under my belt.

That’s a wrap!

I apologise for not responding to comments yet on my last two posts. I’m going to do that ASAP!

How was your week? Did you reach your fitness goals? Do you get into cleaning/ purging / decluttering phases? Do you own a home or rent?

Comments

  1. Shathiso says:

    All that cleaning definitely counts towards strength training and general cardio!

    1. Renée says:

      Right!!! I thought so too!

  2. Coco says:

    House hunting is so time-consuming — and stressful. As is getting your own place ready. I looked up those dutch words, so now I’m ready to go house-hunting with you! Crazy that work sprung that vacation policy on you so close to the deadline. Glad you were able to use vs. lose!

    1. Renée says:

      it is, but it’s fun too! and I’m glad Ron and I are really in sync with what we want! that really helps. I’m glad I could use my days at such short notice. they could have told us sooner…

  3. Birchwood Pie says:

    Oh the joys of house hunting and moving…I don’t miss those days but when I had them they definitely caused some missed workouts. Good luck and I hope you find the right house soon.

    1. Renée says:

      Thank you!

  4. I had grand plans of doing lots of organizing these past few months. I got through the pantry and the freezer once early on. Need to tackle my closet again. House hunting is fun-hope you find your dream house. Cool photo from today

    1. Renée says:

      ooh the pantry was the first thing we did! and my closet is definitely next… Thanks Deborah!

  5. Wendy says:

    I have had really good intentions of decluttering during my time at home but i’ve done very little. I’m going to clean tomorrow. It’s such a chore!

    Loved that picture of you with the bubble!

    1. Renée says:

      It is a chore! I hate it. But sometimes it has to be done!

      Thanks! that photo was definitely fun to make!

  6. Kim at Running on the Fly says:

    Well, my work schedule did not change one iota during the Stay At Home orders, so nada surplus cleaning/organizing. We are considering down-sizing, just not any time soon…but we have so much stuff that needs purging. I hang on to things far longer than I should, too (seriously, we should be friends LOL). Good luck with all your house-hunting…it’s such a fun (though frustrating) process.

    1. Renée says:

      I bet your kids still have a lot of stuff at home too? I mean you do have three other people who own your clutter! Thanks Kim; hopefully we’ll find something soon!

  7. Good luck on the house! This is our third home — one condo, 2 houses (1 apartment at one point too). The best one was the one we lived in in TX. I don’t like this home, never will, so many things I miss about our TX home. Hopefully the next (final?) one will be more to my liking.

    I have been decluttering but there’s nowhere to donate at present (which is adding to clutter — frustrating).

    I was wondering how you’d live with no toilet . . . at least you have something other than a bucket!

    1. Renée says:

      Thanks Judy! We have limited places to donate stuff but I guess some people just don’t care and will take anything off your hands…

      thank goodness it was not a bucket situation! I was already prepared months ago to get us a hotel room!

  8. kookyrunner says:

    You had a really busy week so it’s probably a good thing that you were able to use up those vacation days! I love the house that you saw on Friday – very cool! House hunting is so time consuming and basically like a second job – I hope that you both find a house that you absolutely love!

    Isn’t cleaning/downsizing fun? I especially like it when I can sell items and make some money from the whole process too!

    1. Renée says:

      definitely put the days to good use! I’m trying to sell some clothes and stuff but it just doesn’t sell. I mean it’s so cheap just BUY MY STUFF. hahaha! Ron on the other hand is raking it in. He just sold a Depeche Mode mug for EUR 80. A MUG. These DM mega-fans are just nutballs.

  9. A chemical toilet? I think I know what it is but still not sure. :-) Good luck house hunting! It is a pain. Ugh, decluttering too can be a pain but necessary. I am slowly doing that here too.

    1. Renée says:

      yes looks like a toilet and even “flushes” but the stuff stays in a compartment… :D if you never have to use one your life is still complete :) Thanks! the searching and organising continues.

  10. Marcia says:

    House hunting is exciting but so stressful as well. Bovenwoning layouts seem to be popular there. Haha! What a PIA to be stuck with a chemical toilet. Yikes. The entire pandemic has been sort of a decluttering phase for us.

    1. Renée says:

      Lots of bovenwonings I think because people who live at ground level have a garden and the Dutch back yard is HOLY! It’s really more ideal too for when you get really old.

      yeah the chemical toilet was … yeesh. glad it’s over.

      seems like a lot of us are decluttering.

  11. I’ve tackled a few small areas of my house to declutter but there is a lot more that needs to be done! House hunting can be so stressful. Good luck!

    1. Renée says:

      Sometimes I just don’t feel like decluttering either. I mean, it’s not exactly FUN, right? Thanks Lisa!

  12. I definitely get into phases of cleaning and decluttering. Like when we first went into lockdown. Spent an entire week going through old bags and suitcases and purging stuff I never use anymore. I wouldn’t want to have to go downstairs to go to the bathroom either! We have a two story townhome and a bathroom on each floor. Definitely necessary.

    That’s a nice little unplanned vacation! I’d like to get some extra days off…we’re back to work for three weeks now and this whole five day workweek is BS haha!

    1. Renée says:

      same! we had a big clean and declutter in the beginning! and then nothing haha! and then we decided to go the route of house hunting so we started again.

      Yeah definitely need to have a bathroom or at least a WC on the bedroom level. how do people live without it??

      I was happy for the few days off for sure. I’d like more. can I just not work but get paid anyway?? At least get us down to a 3 day workweek!

  13. I’m totally sucking right now! I’m planning on getting a few rides in this upcoming week. All the best on your house journey! Btw, I love the last photo of you. So dope!

    1. Renée says:

      I hope you got some rides in! Thank you so much! And I am having fun with the app that made that photo for sure! So nice seeing you here Artney and chatting with you a bit on Twitter <3

  14. […] – Day off and 3 house appointments today. Actually one was a 2nd look of our 2nd choice last week (the one with asbestos…). Interestingly enough the guy actually texted Ron that he […]

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