Goal + Action = Reality

[TopNotch]

First Thing Water
Epic Legs Day 10
Arms and Abs Day 10
Guardian Day 8 - All Clear!
12K Steps Daily Day 8
Ronin's Blade Day 6
Iron Arms Day 5
Jogging-around-the-house - 35 minutes
PD - 2 hours

So in the spirit of culinary adventure, today I made a risotto for the first time. Chicken and mushroom risotto. Took longer for the rice to cook than I had expected but when it did, it was delicious. Perhaps hunger is the best sauce! Three portions are now in the freezer and I jotted down how I made it (really easy!). I had to pop out to the shops today (the Lad took my last tube of toothpaste when he was here and I'd just run out) and on a whim (and because I saw it) I bought some firm tofu. Never cooked with that but there are lots of recipes on Darebeets that I'm sure I could have a go at. I'm thinking creamy chia tofu with pineapple because I'd accidentally bought pineapple chunks instead of crushed one day and this would be a fine use for them (though I'll be using cow's milk). Question, though: is it a dessert or a main or what?

Rain was forecast for later in the day and I actually paid attention and took my dry washing off the line before I went out. Put back a clean frontdoor mat - which now, as there was rain and I went out, is dirty again. The best thing about cloth doormats is that when one side gets grubby, you can just turn it over!

@PetiteSheWolf My Footprints is probably the most chill cat ever. She doesn't mind my rubbing her tummy at all. This morning she was lying sleeping on her side and I wandered over and started rubbing her soft tummy. She cracked her eyes open a bit then closed them again and continued sleeping and eventually I got bored and wandered off. Perhaps she knows I get bored and will stop on my own accord so doesn't bother to stop me.

Creed is snoring away, a little bit of pink tongue sticking out of his mouth. You know, I really hope my beasts don't post about how I sleep on some secret animal forum...

 

[Anek]

I would recommend that you don't sub cow milk for the non dairy milk in the recipe. The taste, consistency, protein content, fat content, etc are so different, friends of mine who tried the same substitution in cookies reported total failure.

 

[TopNotch]

First Thing Water
Epic Legs Day 11
Arms and Abs Day 11
Guardian Day 9 + 100 Goblins
12K Steps Daily Day 9
Ronin's Blade Day 7 Hope that the baby panda I rescued yesterday stayed out of the way as I fought for the Underdogs (of course!).
Iron Arms Day 6
Jogging-around-the-house - 1 hour
PD - 65 minutes

 

[Laura Rainbow Dragon]

I would recommend that you don't sub cow milk for the non dairy milk in the recipe. The taste, consistency, protein content, fat content, etc are so different, friends of mine who tried the same substitution in cookies reported total failure.

Baking is an entirely different kettle of fish in which things like fat content are important and substitutions need to be handled carefully to account for it. Cow's milk will work 100% fine in the recipe @TopNotch is suggesting using it in.

 

[TopNotch]

First Thing Water
Epic Legs Day 12
Arms and Abs Day 12
Guardian Day 10 - All Clear!
12K Steps Daily Day 10
Ronin's Blade Day 8 - really hope I was able to kick back under a tree for a bit today because I'd beaten the *** out of those other guys yesterday!
Iron Arms Day 7
Jogging-around-the-house - 50 minutes
PD - 2 hours.

Enjoying a thunder storm at the moment. We've had quite a number of them this summer.

So, after having read @Anek 's caution, I had a careful consideration and decided that baking was different due to the chemical reactions that take place via addition of heat and all and that what this recipe did was simply mix things together, (and I see now that @Laura Rainbow Dragon appears to be of the same mind). Besides, I didn't have any almond milk because I don't like it. Consequently, I made it with cow's milk:

Ta-da! Yeah, not as pretty as the Darebeet pictures and I didn't have any flaked coconut (thought desiccated wouldn't do the job). My blender is also obviously very different as I spent a fair bit of time scraping it off the sides and losing a whole heap from around the blades. Oh well. It tasted pretty good but perhaps it was the Australian in me that said something was missing. I fixed that:

You can see I'd already munched into it but then I simply could not resist adding passionfruit pulp to it and it was magnificent! Pineapple and passionfruit - a brilliant combination. Quite filling, though, and I still don't know if it's a meal or a dessert... Don't suppose it really matters. Wonder if the Lad would like it?

 

[TopNotch]

First Thing Water
Epic Legs Day 13
Arms and Abs Day 13
Guardian Day 11 - All Clear! Wow, two days in a row!
12K Steps Daily Day 11
Ronin's Blade Day 9 I'm a little worried about my panda. Where's my panda?
Iron Arms Day 8
PD - 45 minutes

Dumped about another 60 books off at the Op Shop.

Bit of a disappointing day on two counts today. First, the weather forecast for today had been for rain. All week that had been promised, a decent dump. Even this morning, the forecast was 90% chance of between 3 - 25mm of rain, potential severe storms, less likely toward evening. And I looked out to a bright blue sky, a few gauzy clouds near the horizon. Not a drop. Later in the afernoon there were some more clouds but nothing rain-bearing. So that was disappointing, especially after having been promised for so long.
The second disappointment was that the Lad didn't come over. I thought he was going to be dropped off when #2 was taken to Aikido class and we'd go up to the NP for a hike and he'd stay the night. I guess our wires must have got crossed. He didn't even Snapchat me today. Oh well.

 

[TopNotch]

First Thing Water
Epic Legs Day 14
Arms and Abs Day 14
Guardian Day 12 - All Clear!
12K Steps Daily Day 12
Ronin's Blade Day 10
Iron Arms Day 9
Jogging-around-the-house 40 minutes
Exercise bike 20 minutes, 10km - haven't been on the bike for ages. What with focusing on getting in steps, I'd kind of let other things fall away
Lat pull-downs 3 x 10
Chest press 3 x 5 (while watching tv!)
PD - 30 minutes (it's Sunday)

Finally got the rain this afternoon. It came in some strongly and so sharply angled that I actually had to close my kitchen window. Didn't last for long. I think more rain is forecast for tomorrow. I keep using the weather as an excuse not to mow - too hot, too sunny, too wet - but the dog is beginning to get lost...

 

[TopNotch]

First Thing Water
Epic Legs Day 15
Arms and Abs Day 15
Guardian Day 13 + 100 Goblins
12K Steps Daily Day 13
Ronin's Blade Day 11
Iron Arms Day 10
Jogging-around-the-house 40 minutes
PD - 40 minutes

This morning I thought I woke at 3:30. A moment's conscious reflection and I realised that I had been woken by 3:30. There's a major difference. Then, after about 15-20 minutes, things got a little worse, and that was no fun. Eventually I got to sleep again but then was woken again and so forth. An unspectacular sleep score of 48. The sad thing was that we were having a lovely thunder storm at 3:30 and I wasn't in the mood to appreciate it! As a result of the Beast, I really didn't feel at all like moving today. So I made myself move. Sorted out the last crates of books on the floor of the library so all that's there now is a box of about 40 books to leave my abode. All the books I want to keep are on the shelves, but not all the books on the shelves are those I want to keep. I've still got to go through some but at least things are where I can see them.

I had another builder come over early this afternoon to see what I wanted so he could give me a quote. We'll see. After he left, I mooched around for a bit, did some PD, and then got sick of mooching and decided to do my jogging-around-the-house. It was difficult but I got moving.

This evening, we had another thunder storm. I'd like to think that the gods decided to put on another display just for me, but though it is a bit of a blow to the ego, I'll have to accept that I'm just not that important to them. But I can pretend and enjoy the show. Things are beginning to degrade again. Sometimes I really get bored of this.

 

[TopNotch]

First Thing Water
Epic Legs Day 16
Arms and Abs Day 16
Guardian Day 14 - All Clear! Phew
12K Steps Daily Day 14
Ronin's Blade Day 12
Iron Arms Day 11

Night wasn't great but at least although I woke multiple times, I was back to sleep almost instantly. Felt a little... cranky today though, which partly explains why I did what I did.

Monday 6 Jan I bought a chair but was still waiting for delivery. Today, being a little mentally fragile (well, that's my excuse) I tucked my receipt in my pocket and headed off for the shop. Went in and politely said I'd like to cancel the order and get my money back. The bloke phoned someone and then told me that the chair had been picked up on Thursday and he doesn't know why it hasn't been delivered yet but he's sure it'll be here by tomorrow. But I'd had enough. I said I couldn't trust that, I'd waited long enough, I just want my money back. So I got it back. So now I have no chair coming.

Went to the tip shop (op shop next to the tip that takes bigger stuff than general op shops) to get rid of more stuff. The bloke in front of me was off-loading a captain's chair - and it looked in perfect nick. All I could think was, damn, how about dropping it off at my place? I don't really need one, of course. But still...

As I was pacing through my house, thinking about lots of things this afternoon, Creed was following me with Toy in his mouth. When you've got human children, all their toys end up with names. You provide them if the child is too young. But for Creed, well, I guess Toy is its name! He's taken to carrying Toy around by one ear and he looks a great big wuss.

 

[PetiteSheWolf]

A great big adorable wuss

 

[OJJJEM]

Did I cut my nose off?

"If thy nose offends thee..."

I've learned that it's better to let go of material possessions that risk being a source of contention than to hold on to those things and allow them to rot you through. Doesn't matter if it's an expensive chair you got on sale, a family heirloom, or a bucket of damnable Legos.

 

[FlowersandPetals]

Just wanted to make it clear I thought the dog story was funny, not the chair. Sorry about what happened with the chair!

 

[MadamMeow]

Sorry the chair you wanted did not work out, but I like you held your ground with the sales people. Sometimes people like that, who I bet do similar to lots of people, need a taste of their own medicine.

I'm hoping you eventually end up with something even better.

 

[TopNotch]

First Thing Water
Epic Legs Day 17
Arms and Abs Day 17
Guardian Day 15 - All Clear!
12K Steps Daily Day 15
Ronin's Blade Day 13 - forgot to mention yesterday that I fought the shadows. How can you fight shadows? Seems very metaphorical...
Iron Arms Day 12

Got a quote today from one of the builders. More than I had hoped but less than I had feared. The other one wanted me to pay $1700 before he'd even give me a quote. Now, I don't mind some nominal charge but come on, that's ridiculous! Makes me think he'd try to screw me in any way possible.

Hit my protein goal nicely today but was way down with everything else so had a cheese sandwich (because... cheese) while watching the teev.

 

[TopNotch]

Just wanted to make it clear I thought the dog story was funny, not the chair. Sorry about what happened with the chair!

I dunno. Both kind of funny in their way. But yeah, the dog is funnier.

 

[TopNotch]

"If thy nose offends thee..."

I've learned that it's better to let go of material possessions that risk being a source of contention than to hold on to those things and allow them to rot you through. Doesn't matter if it's an expensive chair you got on sale, a family heirloom, or a bucket of damnable Legos.

Mother of Wisdom

 

[TopNotch]

Sorry the chair you wanted did not work out, but I like you held your ground with the sales people. Sometimes people like that, who I bet do similar to lots of people, need a taste of their own medicine.

I'm hoping you eventually end up with something even better.

I decided that I'm in a position such that I have no need to take sh*t from people. I don't provide it myself, I simply return theirs. Oftentimes, however, they don't get the lesson...

 

[Laura Rainbow Dragon]

I'm down for this! If there's ever a zombie apocalypse, sourcing a nice, safe place to age me some cheese (like maybe a zombie-free cave, or the bottom of a canal) is high on my priorities list.

 

[Lady Celerity]

I'm down for this! If there's ever a zombie apocalypse, sourcing a nice, safe place to age me some cheese (like maybe a zombie-free cave, or the bottom of a canal) is high on my priorities list.

But don't forget the crackers!!

 

[TopNotch]

First Thing Water
Epic Legs Day 18
Arms and Abs Day 18
Guardian Day 16 - All Clear!
12K Steps Daily Day 16
Ronin's Blade Day 14 Ah! There's my wee panda.
Iron Arms Day 13

I'd hit my protein inake easily today (helps when you've got cooked stuff in the fridge!) but was way down with fat and carbs so I indulged in fried bread for dinner, with maple syrup. Very (mentally) healthy!

My brother called this evening and held up my usual routine. He tends to get a bit repetitive the longer the conversation goes because the drunker he gets. Sometimes he gets a little difficult to understand but we get on okay. After the call, I quickly did my Duolingo and then, because it was late, I didn't bother to watch anything. I made a mistake, though, and got sucked into YouTube. A lot of head-shaking in disbelief and face-palming. My uncle used to work some months of the year in Greenland and the rest in Denmark. 'Nuff said. Fried bread with maple syrup is very good.

@Laura Rainbow Dragon You and me, back to back, defending our cache of aged cheddar, stilton, and gouda (does it make anyone else's skin crawl when people pronounce that as "goo-da"? True, that Dutch G isn't easy but at least try!) against the ravening hordes. ... Unless you're defending soft cheese like brie whereupon you're on your own!

@Lady Celerity Why do you need crackers? Oh, I suppose if you eat that soft cheese...

Just as well I'm not doing GTBOT anymore - it's gone 12:30! Ever get to the point where you simply couldn't be bothered going to bed? But I shall go.

 

[OJJJEM]

does it make anyone else's skin crawl when people pronounce that as "goo-da"? True, that Dutch G isn't easy but at least try!

Until now, I didn't know it was pronounced any other way! GOOD TO KNOW!

 

[Laura Rainbow Dragon]

@Laura Rainbow Dragon You and me, back to back, defending our cache of aged cheddar, stilton, and gouda

Sadly I have not been able to get Stilton here lately. Not even "A Taste of Britain" had it last month!

 

[TopNotch]

@Laura Rainbow Dragon That Red Devil sounds totally drool-worthy! Pity there's no decent cheese shop in this forsaken city...

First Thing Water
Epic Legs Day 19
Arms and Abs Day 19
Guardian Day 17 + 100 Goblins
12K Steps Daily Day 17
Ronin's Blade Day 15
Iron Arms Day 14
Bicep curl 7 x 2es

Grey day today so I finished a jigsaw puzzle because that's what grey days are for. Late nights (or rather, early mornings) really don't agree with me. By the time I got to bed at 1am, I couldn't sleep - got my second wind or something. Then shortly before 4, was woken with a bad tum. So sitting there, the purring cat got tired of winding around my ankles and jumped on my back. Unfortunately there was nothing for her to cling on to and she slid/fell off. Had to turn on the light so I could clean the gash she left on my upper thigh but surprisingly there was only a fading red line across my back. Obviously need to clip her back paws! But there were some flashes of lightning (too far away to hear any thunder) and that boded well for the promise of rain. There was some rain this morning and it was pleasantly grey for hours until the sun peeked through. Then around 4, the sky fell down again, loudly hammering on the metal roof of my carport (and elsewhere!) and it rained solidly for about half an hour. So that was nice.

 

[TopNotch]

First Thing Water
Epic Legs Day 20
Arms and Abs Day 20
Guardian Day 18 - All Clear!
12K Steps Daily Day 18
Ronin's Blade Day 16
Iron Arms Day 15

Late this morning, my first delivery from Funky Food arrived. They're an organisation that saves fruit and veg that has been rejected by supermarkets because of size or shape or blemishes, or simply because there's too much of whatever, and sell it at slightly reduced prices (so the farmers still get something for their work and produce). Delivery costs, as always, make a dent, but even so, had I bought all this from the supermarket, it would likely have cost about $20 more than I spent.

Some slight skin blemishes on the plums but everything else was excellent. Those tomatoes look simply perfect so perhaps they were a 'glut' item. Looks like I'd better hurry and learn how to cook bok choi! Very tempted to make a carrot cake. Or zucchini muffins... Not, of course, with the bok choi!

I asked a question of @Damer during this latest AMA so now I have some homework to do. Glad to know that what I had been doing/thinking about doing isn't likely to be a total waste of time so I'm quite excited about it all. Keep you updated.

P.S. Started reading Built to Last. Found a few typos...

 

[TopNotch]

First Thing Water
Epic Legs Day 21
Arms and Abs Day 21
Guardian Day 19 +100 Goblins
12K Steps Daily Day 19
Ronin's Blade Day 17
Iron Arms Day 16

Started preparing for my Grand Experiment. Pulled out my notebook and jotted down reps, sets and weights for a few exercises - so, Xreps x Ysets x Zweights = total weight lifted. So for example, using easy maths, if I did 3 sets (standard #) of 10 reps (ditto) using 10kg, then amount of weight lifted would be 300kg. If I had been using dumbbells, that would be per arm and I'd have to multiply by two to get the total actually lifted; if using Marcy it would be simply the total. Then I played around with my dumbbells (I have two pairs), swapping around the plates to get the maximum I could lift 2 - 5 times. I had to try all these out - oh no, that's a little too much; nah, let's ramp that one up; yep, she's right - and I think at the moment I've got things set where I want them to be. I've calculated how often I need to perform each exercise at the new higher weight in order to equal the weight lifted at the lower weight, and I'll perform these reps throughout the day, whenever I feel like it, rather than during a much briefer window, and I'll see what effect that has. In the AMA, Damer said to try it for six weeks, but in Built to Last, he mentions eight weeks. My mum is coming over on 27 March so that's just under six weeks from now, and I don't imagine I'll have the same facility to lift as I would when she's not here. Anyway, I'll see what happens up until then. I can always resume once she's gone.

Chilly today! 16 degrees in my lounge when I got up. At 9 o'clock it was 11 degrees outside but felt like 5! So I enjoyed a few pots of tea. Later, once I'd fed the beasts, I remembered to do the mowing. No excuse. It wasn't stinking hot or sunny, and it wasn't wet. The long grass was a bit wet still, though, and the lawnmower did struggle through the thicker parts. I had to stop before I'd finished. I hope to get the rest done tomorrow. But a shout out to the valiant little electric lawnmower that did a terrific job this evening!

(Dog included for scale. That and dogs always photobomb!)

 

[Damer]

@TopNotch the power of personalization. Most exercise science study protocols use the eight week benchmark because they usually have untrained subjects. You've already got an adequate level of fitness. Six weeks should be sufficient time for you to determine if it works or not.

 

[Laura Rainbow Dragon]

Kudos to your lawnmower for taking on that jungle indeed!

 

[TopNotch]

You've already got an adequate level of fitness.

First Thing Water
Epic Legs Day 22
Arms and Abs Day 22
Guardian Day 19 + 50 Goblins
12K Steps Daily Day 20
Ronin's Blade Day 18
Iron Arms Day 17
Treadmill walk, 20 minutes
Treadmill walk, P01 - 25 minutes. Trying the programmed workouts that change speed and incline.
Grand Experiment, Week 1, Day 1: Bicep curls x 15es; Chest press x 33. The aim is throughout the day to match, if not exceed, total weight formerly lifted with lighter weights and during briefer time window.

Currently focusing on getting a minimum of 140g protein per day, and a decent amount of carbs. I'm using MyFitnessPal to track this, and there is a recommended number of kilojoules (though how accurate that actually is, I have no idea) and I try to get close to it. Tonight I decided, as an evening snack, to have a tomato salad with EVO oil, but I reckon about half the oil was left in the bottom of the bowl, so how accurate is the count?

Did more mowing and cut down all the jungle to the right of the path and some from the left. Should get the last of it finished tomorrow. Note to self: don't leave the mowing that long again!

 

[TopNotch]

First Thing Water
Epic Legs Day 23
Arms and Abs Day 23
Guardian Day 20 - All Clear!
12K Steps Daily Day 21
Ronin's Blade Day 19 And this, my friends, is why you should always side with the Underdogs!
Iron Arms Day 18
Treadmill walk, 28 minutes
Treadmill walk, P02 - 20 min. Surely nobody could walk at only 2kph! Had to bump up the speed a bit. Today's inclines, however, were nicely challenging.
PD - 90 minutes or possibly a bit more.
GE Wk1, D2 - Triceps extensions x 15es; Triceps press-downs x 48; Triceps kick-backs x 25es.

Is it 'shoulder weather' already? By the time I was up and about this morning, it was only 11 degrees. Not quite so cold in my little house but for a brief moment I seriously wondered if it was too early to try out my new heating system. The sensible part of me told me to put on long sleeves instead! It was about 16 by the time I went out and the day did warm up. I had to go shopping. Why is going shopping such a drag? I mean, I come home with lovely fresh food and restock the fridge and larder and yet I put it off and put it off until there's simply no putting it off any longer. What's with that?

 

[TopNotch]

First Thing Water
Epic Legs Day 24
Arms and Abs Day 24
Guardian Day 21 - All Clear!
12K Steps Daily Day 22
Ronin's Blade Day 20
Iron Arms Day 19
Treadmill walk, 25 minutes
Treadmill walk, P07, 30 minutes
GE Wk1, D3 - Single-Arm DB rows x 50es; Lat pull-downs x 50 (what is it about single-arm rows that makes them so addictive! I didn't mean to do so many but I simply couldn't stop.) All this was equal to about 1 1/2 black rhinoceros.

I'm really unsure about my 'sleep score'. I was told that last night's sleep was Poor, only 48. I had just under 8 hours, was awake for 42 minutes, but I only had 33 minutes Deep sleep and 21 minutes REM. Yet the day before was also Poor with 47, but that night (similar duration) I'd managed 1hr 7min Deep, 43 minutes REM, and 27 minutes awake. Honestly, don't get it. Going to pay no attention to it and focus more on how I feel when I wake up. Makes a bit more sense.

 

[Laura Rainbow Dragon]

Going to pay no attention to it and focus more on how I feel when I wake up. Makes a bit more sense.

I see more and more people getting all hot and bothered over these "sleep scores" these days. But I don't see anyone being able to use the data in any way that enables them to get better sleep. So what is the point in fretting over them? As you say: you know how well you slept from how you feel when you get up!
(I don't wear my sports watch to bed because just the fact of wearing something hard on my wrist would negatively impact the quality of my rest.)

 

[TopNotch]

First Thing Water
Epic Legs Day 25
Arms and Abs Day 25
Guardian Day 22 - All Clear!
12K Steps Daily Day 23
Ronin's Blade Day 21 Having previously fought the Shadows, why would I change now? Go, the Snow Wolves!
Iron Arms Day 20
Treadmill walk, 48 minutes, incline 3.
GE Wk1, D4 - Shoulder press x 35; Lateral raises x 50; Upright rows x 21
PD - 45 minutes (and I forgot to put in two hours for yesterday)

It's not exactly surprised but this is only the first week and who knows if this state of affairs will continue, but as I'm lifting throughout the day rather than in a short period, I'm lifting more. See, not exactly a shocker, is it? Without being constrained by the need to lift a weight that will enable me to perform a 'typical' rep/set range (3 x 12 or similar), I can lift what challenges me without breaking me, the only caveat being that I must lift at least as much as I'd do otherwise. And that's been working. Apart from triceps day (I might have to return to previous weight but increase reps for those), so far I've been lifting 10 - 15% more total weight in a day. That's got to (eventually) have some sort of positive effect. I hope.

Had one of those instances this evening where I wondered if my brain had been switched with that of a cauliflower. I have a half-dozen egg carton in which I keep boiled eggs as my egg cooker makes a neat 6. I also have a few dozen-eggs cartons in which I keep the raw eggs. Apparently yesterday there had been some kind of brain-swap and today when I took out a couple of 'boiled' eggs to throw into my salad, the first one I cracked leaked all over the counter and I realised it was a raw egg. That some twit had put a raw egg in with the boiled eggs! Had I thought about it, I might have wondered why there were 6 eggs in the carton when I had already eaten one...

 

[PetiteSheWolf]

Don't worry too much and join me in the "cauliflower brain"-week-wonderland, haha.

 

[TopNotch]

First Thing Water
Epic Legs Day 26
Arms and Abs Day 26
Guardian Day 23 + 50 Goblins
12K Steps Daily Day 24
Ronin's Blade Day 22 Running with the Wolves!
Iron Arms Day 21
Treadmill walk, 50 min, incline 3 (last 5 min incline 5)
Treadmill stroll, 30 minutes. This was done quite slowly, a real stroll at 3.2 (or possibly 3.3) because I was reading at the time and simply didn't want to have to sit while doing so.
GE Wk1, D5 - Scheduled rest day. Giving that ol' CNS a bit of a break before restarting the cycle tomorrow.
PD - three hours.

It is claimed that by writing down your goals, you've got about a 42% greater likelihood of achieving them - which is probably why so many of us use this forum to do just that. I thought it was about time I revisited and revised my own goals. Priority has changed, foci are different. I've identified Grand Goals in four areas of my life that I'd like to achieve this year. I still need to break them down into steps and time periods but I've made a start. And actually dug out an appropriately exhortative notebook!

Among plans is the intention to work on my music again. When I was about 11, I was possessed by the desire to play Mozart's Concerto No. 1. It was far out of my reach but I wanted it so when I got money for my birthday and we went up to the Big Smoke, I bought it. I have never played it.

No surprises, right? But I'm not 11 anymore. Also, while I've been tidying up and sorting out, I wondered why I have an alto/treble recorder (did anyone not learn the descant at school?). My aunt had given it to me and I've never learnt to play it. I looked at selling it but it's not really worth it, so perhaps I'll learn. After all, I even have a few books from said aunt (yeah, far cry from Mozart!):

These are written as annual goals. It's important not to make too many quarterly (or whatever time frame you choose to use) goals. For example, I want to improve my diet and cook decent meals again, so my goal for this quarter is to find and cook a new recipe (preferably high protein) each week. But I don't think I'll be playing Mozart's Concerto by the end of the quarter!

 

[Mamatigerj]

I wish you well on your goals!

 

[TopNotch]

First Thing Water
Epic Legs Day 27
Arms and Abs Day 27
Guardian Day 24 - All Clear!
12K Steps Daily Day 25
Ronin's Blade Day 23 Phew!
Iron Arms Day 22
Treadmill walk, 50 mins, incline 3 (last 5 mins incline 5)
Treadmill amble, 30 mins at 3.5kph while reading
GE Wk1, D6 - Biceps curls x 23es; Chest press x 54. There really is no reason why I have divided things as I have other than this is the easiest option that doesn't necessitate frequent changing of the weights on my dumbbells. Only on one day do I have to fiddle a bit. Oh, I guess then that the reason is - I'm lazy!
PD - 2 hours

Finally got rid of the last of the books from the floor of my library. Everything I know I want gone is now gone. That doesn't mean there aren't still things that can and will go, of course. Their time will come.

 

[Laura Rainbow Dragon]

Also, while I've been tidying up and sorting out, I wondered why I have an alto/treble recorder (did anyone not learn the descant at school?). My aunt had given it to me and I've never learnt to play it. I looked at selling it but it's not really worth it, so perhaps I'll learn.

I think my descant recorder cost CDN$3 back in the day. I wonder if I still have it!

Best wishes for success with all your new goals!

 

[TopNotch]

First Thing Water
Epic Legs Day 28
Arms and Abs Day 28
Guardian Day 25 - All Clear!
12K Steps Daily Day 26
Ronin's Blade Day 24
Iron Arms Day 23
Treadmill walk, 50 mins, incline 3 (last 5 mins incline 5)
Treadmill amble, 30 mins at 3.6kph while reading
GE Wk1, D7 - Triceps Press-downs x 78; Triceps extensions x 27es; Triceps kick-backs x 40es
PD - 2 hours and counting

Once read something about triggers for behaviour that you either have and want to get rid of, or want to have. I tend to want to snack (so original!) in the evening while watching the teev - my trigger being 'watching the teev'. So I've moved my televisual entertainment earlier in the evening to dinner time. Now I sit in front of the teev with my dinner-plate on my lap and I enjoy both my dinner and the show. Then I do other stuff during which I have no desire to snack. So, with no effort at all, no snacking. So far...

 

[TopNotch]

First Thing Water
Epic Legs Day 29
Arms and Abs Day 29
Guardian Day 26 - All Clear!
12K Steps Daily Day 27
Ronin's Blade Day 25
Iron Arms Day 24
Treadmill walk, 50 mins, incline 3 (last 5 mins incline 5)
Treadmill amble, 30 mins at 3.6kph while reading
GE Wk2, D1 - Lat pull-downs x 65; Single-arm row x 60es
PD - 1 hour

Forgot to watch my show during dinner tonight - did what I usually do which is read, but I still had half a watermelon in the fridge so I decided to have dessert while watching. Quarter of a watermelon left.
Got an email today about my next Funky Food order, including a link to what will be in the box. I nearly clicked on it but I stopped myself. I want a surprise come Saturday!

 

[TopNotch]

First Thing Water
Guardian Day 27 + 50 Goblins
12K Steps Daily Day 28
Ronin's Blade Day 26
Iron Arms Day 25
Treadmill walk, 50 mins, incline 3 (last 5 mins incline 5)
Treadmill amble, 30 mins at 3.6kph while reading
GE Wk2, D2 - Shoulder press x 50; Lateral raise x 65; Upright row x 35
Copenhagen plank - 30sec es
PD - 1hour 45minutes

 

[Laura Rainbow Dragon]

Spoiler: Congratulations

on completing the Epic Legs and Arms & Abs Challenges!

 

[NancyTree]

Spoiler: Congratulations

on completing the Epic Legs and Arms & Abs Challenges!

2nd that!

 

[TopNotch]

First Thing Water
Ab challenge Day 1
Guardian Day 28 + 100 Goblins
12K Steps Daily Day 29
Ronin's Blade Day 27
Iron Arms Day 26
Treadmill, 50 mins, incline 3 (last 5 mins incline 5)
Treadmill amble, 30 mins at 3.7kph while reading
GE Wk2, D3 - Rest Day!
Side plank - 30 sec es

No scheduled weight lifting today so I went shopping instead. It's gotta be done...

 

[TopNotch]

First Thing Water
Ab challenge Day 2
Salad-a-Day Day 1 - Blueberries, spinch and blue cheese
Guardian Day 29 - All Clear!
Ronin's Blade Day 28
Iron Arms Day 27
Treadmill Walk, 50 mins, incline 3 (last 5 mins incline 5)
Treadmill amble, 30 mins at 3.7kph while reading - and trying to learn to walk! (see below)
GE Wk2, D4 - Biceps curls x 34; Chest press x 57

Thought I'd give the salad challenge a go. I enjoy salads. Wonder if I can do a different one every day? Probably not but it'll be fun to try.

I've been working on my walking. Sounds strange, hey? But the fact is, I don't actually walk properly. Due to my dodgy knees (poorly-tracking patella, tendency to dislocate) I've developed an effective and efficient gait that looks perfectly normal, but I think over the years that had contributed (caused?) an atrophying of my VMO, particularly on the right. When I walk, I kick my leg straight out, maintain it straight as I move over it, and only bend the knee to lift the leg before kicking it straight again. So today during my 30-minute amble, I really focused on bending that knee, and maintaining that bend (apparently called 'walking with soft knees'), while engaging the quads. Took a lot of effort - learning a new skill, if you will. But I think this is a worthwhile activity for me to do, and I write this here as a reminder to myself to keep doing it.

 

[OJJJEM]

So today during my 30-minute amble, I really focused on bending that knee, and maintaining that bend (apparently called 'walking with soft knees'), while engaging the quads. Took a lot of effort - learning a new skill, if you will. But I think this is a worthwhile activity for me to do, and I write this here as a reminder to myself to keep doing it.

I have to walk intentionally as well, or I damage my feet, knees, and hips. Sometimes, I lose my balance and stumble in the process because I'm so used to walking in a way that forces me to get from point A to point B using only momentum and not paying actual attention to my body while walking (like riding a bike, i guess... you can only go so slow before tipping over)... Doing it intentionally, though, has helped strengthen the areas around my trouble spots because I was using muscles that I had ignored when the goal was just to move as quickly as possible to the next resting point and ignore the pain. We are LITERALLY relearning how to walk when we adjust to our injuries.

 

[TopNotch]

First Thing Water
Ab challenge Day 3
Salad-a-Day Day 2 - clear-out-the-crisper and tuna salad
Ronin's Blade Day 29 siding with the Kitsune
Iron Arms Day 28
Treadmill Walk, 50 mins, incline 3 (last 5 mins incline 5)
Treadmill walking-with-soft-knees, 30 mins at 3.7kph while reading
GE Wk2, D5 - Triceps press-down x 87; Triceps extensions x 32; Triceps kick-backs x 50
PD - 1 hour 30 minutes

 

[TopNotch]

First Thing Water
Ab challenge Day 4
Salad-a-Day Day 3 - more of a how-much-protein-can-I-shove-in-without-cooking-anything salad. Answer: not enough!
Atlas Day 1 - oof! Now I see what the Feb challenge was prepping us for!
Iron Arms Day 29
Treadmill Walk, 50 mins, incline 3 (last 5 mins incline 5)
Treadmill walking-with-soft-knees, 30 mins at 3.7kph while reading - I actually do this exaggeratedly, with my knees a little more bent than would look normal while walking.
GE Wk2, D6 - Lat pull-downs x 65; Single-arm rows x 60es. I've noticed that I'm getting competitive with myself, aiming to do more than I did last time and that has to stop because that's not what this whole thing is about. If I do more, fine, but I must stop aiming for more. I'm aiming to get stronger and do so in a way that is convenient to me and doesn't knacker me. My intention had been to lift at least as much as I had lifted in a concentrated period so I must remember that and not constantly try to one-up myself. Improvement will come with increased weight, not reps.

Bit tired today. I've set my watch to buzz at 10:30 now, telling me it's time to get to bed, and last night it did that. I was just shutting things down when my brother phoned. So it was just after midnight by the time I got to bed. Fortunately I went to sleep fairly promptly, which was a change.

Spent way too long this morning watching the news and going

but I think everyone knows the answer to that.

Today's fruit and veg box was interesting. Got a melon - think it's a pielo de sapo, some beautiful red capsicum, 10 shallots (though to me they just look like smaller onions which is fine because I like onions, but 10?), mushrooms, pears, apples, tomatoes, zucchini, three long green chilis, potatoes, oranges, lemons, carrots, one garlic, three fuzzy peaches, bananas (spottier than I like to eat them so I'll chuck them in the freezer for smoothies) and a butternut pumpkin. So much delicious-looking food and I was a little overwhelmed. Better start menu-planning!

 

[Mamatigerj]

but I think everyone knows the answer to that.

Unfortunately

 

[FlowersandPetals]

Hey - some ways you can add protein to a salad : tofu (takes some work- roasting them as cubes) and beans. Chickpeas work great!

 

[TopNotch]

First Thing Water
Ab challenge Day 5
Salad-a-Day Day 4 - tomato and onion
Atlas Day 2 @Fremen agree!
Treadmill Walk, 50 mins, incline 3 (last 5 mins incline 5)
GE Wk2, D7 - Shoulder press x 53; Lateral raise x 65; Upright row x 35

Didn't do my slower walking today. Got stuck into some work and well, the time simply flew!

As my mum will be here in little more than three weeks, and stay for a fortnight (I think that's all), there is no time for me to start any other challenges (apart from the monthly one) or programme before she comes. I could't say if I would feel comfortable doing a lot of stuff while she's here. So long as I can still go walking, and I'll see what else I can squeeze in - but that's over three weeks away so I'm not stressing about it now. Plenty of time to stress later!

@FlowersandPetals thanks, but I didn't mean to imply I didn't know where to get protein. I knew and I had plenty in the fridge but it all involved cooking and I can be a lazy cove!