Back From Balloon Camp

I returned yesterday from a week at a balloon camp near Cordele, Ga. It was fun to meet new ballooning friends and see some familiar faces. I spent a lot of my time taking pictures and doing social media posts.

There was no Wi-Fi at camp and cell service was limited. McDonald’s was my office. I uploaded to our social media channels (though I neglected Tik Tok because I simply didn’t have time to learn more about it) and didn’t do half of what I wanted to do. I’m glad I decided perfectionism was beyond me a long time ago.

I felt torn because I also was assigned kitchen duty. It was pretty clear my part was going to mostly be doing dishes. Do you know how many dishes are dirtied to prepare three/four meals (and snacks) for about 40 people? A ton! But I made it through, with a lot of help from my friends.

Oh, and ironically my refrigerator was on the blink when I got home. They replaced it with a new one today, so now my refrigerator is cleaned out. I didn’t lose a ton, but the morning coffee wasn’t great with curdled cream and sour milk.

I told my nutritionist before I went I was going to eat what I wanted. Thankfully there were healthy options – lots of salads and fruit. There was a lot of pretty. How about these stuffed peppers?

My biggest casualties were my feet. I went into it with a flare of plantar fasciitis. I went in for a cortisone shot beforehand, hoping that would help, but after talking to my podiatrist I decided that surgery was the best option.

The surgery is only about 8 minutes on each foot and is done laparoscopically. I will be able to walk on them that day – but only can be on them 20 minutes an hour for six weeks. It’s scheduled for mid-July.

But it can cure the problem, which is almost a necessity for my life. I have things on my “to do” list like the Camino de Santiago. I don’t want a flare up doing something like that.

Plus I have met my deductible and am only about $1,000 from my medical out-of-pocket under my health insurance. This will be the year I get everything done that needs to be done!

I’m also thinking about getting a procedure done for the reflux that has been plaguing me. I saw info about it in the medical offices when I went for my podiatrist visit. It’s smart for them to advertise this stuff in their medical offices.

I’m generally healthy, but also am not one to not take advantage of this stuff when insurance will pay for it. Let’s deal with it all before it is a huge issue.

But back to my feet. They are swollen and hurting after all that sink time. I’m hoping they’re in better shape this weekend when I visit some friends in the mountains for the 4th. Right now they do hurt!

Oh, in my McDonald’s parking lot “office” I did a job interview. I did it all wrong. I was a mess. I hadn’t even washed my hair. I was wearing the same clothes I wore the day before. I noticed the seat belt across my chest before I turned the camera on. I wish I had a picture so you could see how bad it was. And I’m also glad I don’t!

But they were nice and fun and understood and ultimately offered me the job. I’ve got to take a bit of time to think it through, but I expect I’ll be working with them. It’s contract insurance enrollment work (helping people sign up for benefits), but I think I can work more days with them than the firm I have been working for and know my schedule a bit more in advance. Plus some will be in person and some over the phones from my home office. I like the variety.

I am trying to find that perfect blend of work and time off. This will still allow me ample time to travel.

I’m back to the nutritionist tomorrow. While I wasn’t perfect in my eating, she doesn’t expect it. We’re working on a real life plan of healthy eating and that does not require perfection.

The picture at the top is from balloon camp. It’s two of my local buddies. I’ve watched this young woman’s passion for ballooning develop, so having her at camp this past week was fantastic. She’s working with another friend who is one of the most accomplished pilots I know. It was fun to see. Seeing dreams develop and mentoring occur – such joys of life!

But for now I’ll take a bit of a rest!