Goal + Action = Reality

[TopNotch]

First Thing Water
Multiplank Day 16
Walkabout Day 16
Wall-Sit Day 16
Ninja Day 16
Standing Abs Day 14
Zero Hero Day 14
Everest Day 1 - I really ought to try some challenges I haven't done before. But it can be annoying when I choose a challenge and just see 30 red crosses at the bottom of the page!
DB Shoulder press 3 x 12
DB lateral raise 3 x 12
DB upright row 3 x 12
Banded pull-aparts 3 x 12
Treadmill walk 45m, 4.7km

After standing over a sinkful of hot water, doing the dishes, I was so in the mood for a smoothie today! Banana, blueberry and mango, with chocolate protein powder. Yum. I do frequently find it difficult to hit my protein goal but I'm trying harder right now.

Got to bed a little later than planned last night because Creed didn't want to go out and do his business because there was a small bit of distant thunder, so I stepped outside and began watching the lightning display. It was wonderful, and shot around all of the sky I could see from my backyard - so around 180 degrees. Most of it seemed to be over the hill on my right, but then flashes to my left started lighting up my yard so much that there were sharp shadows. The thunder was very distant and often inaudible but the lightning came closer and then the thunder came but not crashingly. Eventually I peeled myself away and went to bed.

 

[Laura Rainbow Dragon]

Only did it so that when I'd finished, the cat could have somewhere different to sleep!

 

[TopNotch]

First Thing Water
Multiplank Day 17
Walkabout Day 17
Wall-Sit Day 17
Ninja Day 17
Standing Abs Day 15
Zero Hero Day 15
Everest - found I had to drop this one. My right wrist is bothering me when I put weight on it. Discovered that with the planks but I've been planking on my knuckles when I have to use hands but can't see myself mountain climbing on my knuckles.
Wrist pain - well, obvious from above, right?
Treadmill walk - 45 min, 4.5km
PD - 40 minutes

Another disturbed night. Most of my nights are disturbed, and my sleep is generally described as "restless" - though I get quite excited when, for a change, it says something like "continuous" and I get positively giddy with delight if I'm told "plenty of deep"! Fortunately, though, despite being disturbed, I didn't stay awake for long and I always count that as a plus. And I thought about the pills I have and wondered again if those side effects were really so bad...? Hell yeah!

A brief thunder storm this afternoon with violent rain. It was wonderful!


Apparently this season I didn't grow any actual tomatoes; I grew yellow petite pears, black cherries, and mini sugar plums! When not preserving, I prefer to grow small tomatoes because they are so easy to pig out on.

And how can cats look so darned comfortable?!

 

[PetiteSheWolf]

Cats know how to relax comfortably, for sure. I often envy my Mademoiselle Luna !

 

[Mamatigerj]

for your wrist.

 

[TopNotch]

First Thing Water
Multiplank Day 18
Walkabout Day 18
Wall-Sit Day 18
Ninja Day 18
Standing Abs Day 16
Zero Hero Day 16 - yep, that escalated quickly!
Wrist pain - reprise
Back and Biceps - and yes, the cat let me use 'her' bench for the rows (though I only got to use the longer back part as she was curled up on the seat).
Treadmill walk - 25 minutes, 2.7km
PD - over four hours. My brain hurts.

My sleep report said, "Plenty of REM"! Love it.

 

[PetiteSheWolf]

How nice from Kitty to let you use her bench, no "" included (oops, looks like Mademoiselle Luna stole the keyboard and passwords for a few minutes, apologies!)

 

[FlowersandPetals]

Your cat is so adorable!

Hope your wrist feels better soon!

 

[TopNotch]

First Thing Water
Multiplank Day 19
Walkabout Day 19
Wall-Sit Day 19
Ninja Day 19
Standing Abs Day 17
Zero Hero Day 17
Treadmill walk (with some brief running intervals) 49mins, 5.1km - why such odd time/distance? Because I was listening to the last episode of season 9, and woah! Really didn't see that coming!
Treadmill walk - another a bit later while I was waiting for my very healthy dinner pizza to heat in the oven. One of the side quests. 25min, 2.27km because I was feeling a bit slower.

It's been really windy the last couple of days. Fortunately nothing too bad down this neck of the woods, but I noticed some downed branches in my front yard and the flowering shrub in the back appears to have half-fallen over. Better see to that tomorrow, I guess.

Since reading @neilarey 's log in which she records sleep scores, I've been paying a little more attention to mine. This morning's was excellent! 82, with that magical "plenty of deep"! 1:40 of deep, 1:46 of REM, 4:17 of light, and only 3 minutes awake. (Yep, bad enough to wake me up but over quickly!) Perhaps the good sleep was because of the dog. For some strange reason last night, while I was cleaning my teeth, he was scratching around with his little bed (the former cat's pod) and bringing it closer to my bed, rumpling up the rug on the way.

His bed is normally about half a metre further away.
Or it could have just been because it was a bit cooler and I was more comfortable. Who knows...

My mum's booked her flight over here for her last two-day walk. She'll be staying a bit more than a fortnight. So I've got about two months to come up with a menu that'll suit both of us. Not sure she'd really like what (lazy) I eat - let's just toss some chicken in a pan and cook it up. Oh, to be different, how about this time I use ketjap manis instead of worchestershire sauce! Noticed, though, that I can't seem to print any of the Darebeets recipes. The old recipes used to have a Download button...

 

[OJJJEM]

Noticed, though, that I can't seem to print any of the Darebeets recipes. The old recipes used to have a Download button...

I have nothing but time on my hands... link the recipes you want printed to me, and I'll link you a printable 1-page Google Sheets format.
Even better if I can message it to you as an image that you can copy, paste, print.

 

[Laura Rainbow Dragon]

Perhaps the good sleep was because of the dog. For some strange reason last night, while I was cleaning my teeth, he was scratching around with his little bed (the former cat's pod) and bringing it closer to my bed, rumpling up the rug on the way.
View attachment 5901
His bed is normally about half a metre further away.

Aww! He wants to be close to you!

 

[TopNotch]

I have nothing but time on my hands... link the recipes you want printed to me, and I'll link you a printable 1-page Google Sheets format.
Even better if I can message it to you as an image that you can copy, paste, print.

Wow, @OJJJEM that's a very generous offer! You do realise that everyone who reads this thread now knows you can do this... I'll get right on it!

 

[TopNotch]

First Thing Water
Multiplank Day 20
Walkabout Day 20
Wall-Sit Day 20
Ninja Day 20
Standing Abs Day 18
Zero Hero Day 18
Queen of Mean
Treadmill walk - 50 mins/4.7km. The treadmill was doing unsettling things, jerking and altogether not behaving. Hope I don't have to look into it. I hate playing with electricals.
PD - 1 1/2 hours

Sleep totally sucked last night. Disappointingly, Garmin just said "Poor". Humph. Over an hour's less REM than the night before, and 40 minutes awake. I was well aware of that; it was not a Good Night.

But - I got to a charity shop today and dropped off two large boxes of cookbooks. Oh, that hurt, it really did! Had to be done, though. I'm doing a first culling of the books. I've chosen an easy first step: cull all books using only American measurements. If books have American measurements and metric or imperial, it survives the first cut. I find baking using volumetric measurements hopelessly inaccurate and I hate it. Just use scales, people! You get consistency. And I dumped some books I'm not going to be using, things that were bought with the children in mind, such as the book on cake pops. Can't see myself ever making cake pops just for me. So all that emptied four crates from the library floor. My chair should be coming next week so that Kloudsac's got to be relocated to the library. Sounds grand, doesn't it? Library. It's really just a small room without cupboards, but it's lined now with bookshelves and once I've got things ordered in there, it'll be pretty fine.

 

[OJJJEM]

Wow, @OJJJEM that's a very generous offer! You do realise that everyone who reads this thread now knows you can do this... I'll get right on it!

Not a problem... I've already done it for myself.

 

[Lady Celerity]

Sounds grand, doesn't it? Library. It's really just a small room without cupboards, but it's lined now with bookshelves and once I've got things ordered in there, it'll be pretty fine.

I heartily agree!

 

[TopNotch]

First Thing Water
Multiplank Day 21
Walkabout Day 21
Wall-Sit Day 21
Ninja Day 21
Standing Abs Day 19
Zero Hero Day 19
PD - 1 hour, 40 minutes

So I took the cover off the bottom of the treadmill and removed a puppy's-worth of dog hair. Never had to deal with this problem before! But the thing still judders and jerks so it looks as though I'll have to investigate further, maybe see what I can do to the motor... I'm no mechanic.

Lousy sleep again. Another score of 48. And Garmin is still advising me to 'Rest'. I sort of did today, as I couldn't do the walkabout in (mostly) one go. It was definitely spread out through the day. But, even taking it easy, I got there. My alarm is about to go off to tell me to get to bed.

 

[TopNotch]

First Thing Water
Multiplank Day 22
Walkabout Day 22
Wall-Sit Day 22
Ninja Day 22
Standing Abs Day 20
Zero Hero Day 20

You know how some days don't turn out the way you expect? Not better, not worse, just... different. That was my today.
Yesterday, #2 phoned me, much to my surprise. But when I answered the call, the first thing she demanded, without preamble, was "where is the felt?" I said, "You mean, where is my felt?" I'd not done much felt-craft with the children but I had had fun making a quiet book for the Lad, and the Advent decorations, so didn't think anything of it when I packed up all my felt. Then she asked if I could "bring it back". Narked by the rudeness I was experiencing, I suggested she buy her own felt. She said she couldn't; it was Sunday. So she expected me to up and rush over to her (20-minute drive each way), bringing my felt, when she was treating me in an unacceptable manner. I said I wasn't going anywhere because I didn't want to. She then abused me some more and hung up. I got out the felt, sorted it a little, keeping some for myself in case I feel crafty again, and put the bag for her by the door. My 81-year-old ex-neighbour had been in contact with me, would like to see me, to meet Creed, so I thought I'd combine the two things.
So today shortly after 11, the bag of felt and the dog went into my car and we set off. We'll gloss over the events that took place during my brief visit to the Other House (no "thank you" was involved) and skip right next door to my lovely neighbour, who has always been on my side (if there are sides). She has a little King Charles spaniel and we sat outside with the dogs and chatted, showing pictures from our phones. The Lad was with me, trying to get Creed to walk with him. He had better luck with the spaniel! Finally the Lad went back to his home, the neighbour brought me into her house to show me the piano she'd got free (except, of course, that she had to pay for delivery and tuning), and then Creed and I got into my hot car and headed home.
A few minutes down the road, the phone rang and it was the Lad, asking where I was. He wanted to show me something, so, given I wasn't far away, I returned and he jumped into the car and belted up. He'd decided he wanted to go to my place and have dinner, and he'd notified the other people and could we go now? I confess I was a little surprised as he hadn't mentioned this previously, but off we went and finally got back home shortly after 3. I was doing a right perish, having drunk nothing since leaving home at 11. Lots of water, then we shared a mango and pineapple smoothie. Quizzed each other with geometry cards - the sort of questions being, which shape comes next, or how many squares can you see? They were fun. Thoroughly unhealthy dinner because there were things in my freezer that needed getting out, and that was yummy for a change. We had a good time, then I got him back home around 7:30, and home myself at 8. The whole day gone but on the whole I enjoyed it.
The Lad told me that the next time he comes over, I have to teach him how to pick locks because he wants to learn. Hey, we all have our various skill sets, right?

It's late now. For some strange reason this morning I slept through my alarm for the first time in over six months. I think that's about how long I've been using one. Apparently, my Garmin chirps and vibrates 148 time over a period of 5 minutes (I checked and it was really annoying!) but this morning - no idea what happened. I woke 15 minutes later and was surprised to see the time. The beasts were both asleep. I had a better sleep last night. Today was a physically more relaxed but mentally and emotionally more fraught, so it's anyone's guess what tonight's sleep will be like. Suppose I'd better go and find out.

 

[PetiteSheWolf]

Ah, I got cookbooks in both metric and US system (the perks of having lived in the US as well as in Europe, LOL), I switch, it is mostly fine. For non-pastry, it definitly makes no difference IMO, for pastry/baking/cakes, there may be more ... But I got a feel of the mix and adjust, I guess.
Too many cookbooks here too, but it's fun!

 

[TopNotch]

Ah, I got cookbooks in both metric and US system (the perks of having lived in the US as well as in Europe, LOL), I switch, it is mostly fine. For non-pastry, it definitly makes no difference IMO, for pastry/baking/cakes, there may be more ... But I got a feel of the mix and adjust, I guess.
Too many cookbooks here too, but it's fun!

Too many, yeah... I keep some not just because of the recipes but because they are a good read! Anecdotes and history and suchlike. A cookbook needn't simply be a book full of recipes. Of course, if they were, it would make it a whole lot easier to get rid of them!

 

[TopNotch]

First Thing Water
Multiplank Day 23
Walkabout Day 23
Wall-Sit Day 23
Ninja Day 23
Standing Abs Day 21
Zero Hero Day 21
PD - about 2 hours

The chickens were out this afternoon. Creed knows he's not allowed to chase them, no matter how tempting it may be when Rosie flies across the yard. I was walking back from the coop and noticed a flash of brown behind me on my right and I assumed it was Creed but then there he was on my left (as he knows he ought to be) and it was Rosie walking along with me on the other side, before she peeled off to join Spot who had found something interesting. There was a time later when I wished I had a camera with me right then: Creed and Rose-Red were nose to - well, beak. I'm not sure if Rosie was investigating him, wondering what strange beast he might be, or warning him to mind his step. Whichever it was, he soon came inside and cowered beside me, watching from the other side of the glass door! Does my chook bully my Rhodey?

 

[PetiteSheWolf]

Well the doggie's eyes and sensitive nose are more or less at level of the chick's sharp beak so ... bullying may not be completely out of the picture, LOL!

 

[TopNotch]

First Thing Water
Multiplank Day 24
Walkabout Day 24
Wall-Sit Day 24
Ninja Day 24
Standing Abs Day 22
Zero Hero Day 22
Biceps Curls 4 x 3es
PD - 1 1/2 hours

 

[TopNotch]

First Thing Water
Multiplank Day 25
Walkabout Day 25
Wall-Sit Day 25
Ninja Day 25
Standing Abs Day 23
Zero Hero Day 23
DB Shoulder Press 1 x 6, 2 x 10
DB Lateral Raise 3 x 12
DB Upright Row 3 x 12
PD - 65 minutes

Embarrassed myself today. Or was it I annoyed myself? Perhaps it was chagrin. Whatever. I decided to increase the weights a bit. For the first set of shoulder press, with the heavier weight, I stopped at 6, but for the second I realised I could do more so I did, and with the third. Then each of the other two exercises, I increased the weights and still hit 12 reps per set. The increases were 30, 25 and 20% respectively. I had thought I had been lifting something that was challenging but I could do 3 sets of 12 with, but it turns out I was fooling myself. There was way more in the tank; I've just really been slacking off when I had thought I was doing well. Yep, I think it's chagrin.

Read something interesting and alarming today. Turns out that poor old Gen Zs are in a bad way. And not just then, but continuing on down the line. Apparently, the inability to write cursive is having major effects on brain development! And the habit of reading simple - can you even call them sentences? - messages and tweets and such is resulting in the inability to read and understand complex texts, things that require a bit of thought, like literary fiction. They're the first generation to be going backwards since humans first applied a bit of burnt stick to a wall (or a wedge-shape in a bit of clay).

 

[FlowersandPetals]

Homeschoolers are probably the exception about the cursive learning. (I homeschooled my kids to high school graduation and did teach them cursive). It's a shame that so many schools have stopped teaching it though.

 

[Lady Celerity]

Read something interesting and alarming today. Turns out that poor old Gen Zs are in a bad way. And not just then, but continuing on down the line. Apparently, the inability to write cursive is having major effects on brain development! And the habit of reading simple - can you even call them sentences? - messages and tweets and such is resulting in the inability to read and understand complex texts, things that require a bit of thought, like literary fiction. They're the first generation to be going backwards since humans first applied a bit of burnt stick to a wall (or a wedge-shape in a bit of clay).

I'm currently reading Generation Z Unfiltered . My daughter is Generation Z and our oldest students are Gen Z. It's been eye-opening and very helpful in understanding how to engage and relate to these young people. Studies quoted in the book state that their frontal cortexes are actually thinning! Highly recommended.

 

[TopNotch]

First Thing Water
Multiplank Day 26
Walkabout Day 26
Wall-Sit Day 26
Ninja Day 26
Standing Abs Day 24
Zero Hero Day 24
Lat pull-downs 3 x 12
Bent-over DB rows 3 x 12
Single-arm DB rows 3 x 12
Shrugs 3 x 12

For a change, I did the EOTD this morning but turned out it was yesterday's. Oh well.

Increased the weights of all the above today, and on a couple of them, the last one or two of the last set were a bit of a challenge. I like to tot up the total weight I lift of a day and apply it to something visual (rather than a mere number of kilos), so today I can say that I lifted about two cars.

Before I started, I warmed up the lungs with a good bit of singing (Creed's learnt to pay no attention). I liked this one because of the long notes.

 

[Mamatigerj]

so today I can say that I lifted about two cars.

 

[TopNotch]

First Thing Water
Multiplank Day 27
Walkabout Day 27
Wall-Sit Day 27
Ninja Day 27
Standing Abs Day 25
Zero Hero Day 25
HD Arms Aarghh! Why do I do this to myself? I know what I'm like. Too much the same all at one go and my brain's like

This workout's simply not for me. Partly it was because of when I started it. I thought I'd just get a set of bicep curls done before I did something else (so I wasn't focused on the exercise, for a start), but it was to failure with 4kg dumbbells. By the time I hit 300 reps, I was so over it. Probably would have been different if it hadn't been alt curls but by alternating, each arm had that bit of rest so I could keep going. But I got bored. And sweaty. So I stopped. I don't think, at this point, I was far from failure, maybe another 10 or 20 reps? The others were easier to get to failure due to the blood-flow issue. I also think that the sheer volume of bicep curls aggrevated my forearm so it was a little cranky with me when I came to the second set so I only did 50 - yeah, nowhere near failure on that one - and then I called it a day for the biceps. All up, today I lifted the equivalent of 6 polar bears.

 

[TopNotch]

First Thing Water
Multiplank Day 28
Walkabout Day 28
Wall-Sit Day 28
Ninja Day 28
Standing Abs Day 26
Zero Hero Day 26
PD - 30 minutes

Australia Day today so my excuse for a slack day. Nah, I don't actually need any excuse!

Since my little treadmill decided to clag out after less than two months, I've instead been jogging on the spot, in front of the soundbar where the tunes are coming, and the airconditioner to make good use of the sweat. I'll get myself a good treadmill some time because I find them useful but right now I'll just jog on the spot. It's not bad, actually.

I was doing some PD this morning and one of the suggestions I came across was to journal - but I haven't got the patience for that sort of thing any more - but it went on to say the sort of thing that could be written, such as last night's dream. Time was I used to write down my dreams. They're generally very odd. There was one years ago, I can still see the scene in my mind - it was night, quite dark but not pitch-black. I'm on a beach (and I am so not a beach person), water lapping but no roaring breakers. Strangely I'm on a motorbike, idling, facing someone else on a motorbike, like some sort of show-down, but the other person was the Devil. Hmm... I never found out what happened...
For about a year, I shared a flat with my sister. Most mornings I'd say, "Let me tell you about my dream". And she'd be all, "Oh, wait, wait!" and she'd make her breakfast and sit down, all anticipation as though I were some sort of television show about to start.
Last night's dream now. Strangely I can't tell if it was in a small and cramped hair salon or in a small and cramped pancake place. Apparently there was quite a few people around in there but suddenly other people burst in and gunned everyone down, except me because I hid in a cupboard. Then another group of people appeared, possibly police-types, and they looked at the carnage and said, "They killed everyone". Cue me to step out of the cupboard and say, "They didn't kill me". All right. I'd just love for someone to try to 'interpret' that! But I wouldn't really write it down because I can still see so much more of it but I can't describe it and there are gaps and it would drive me crazy not to have it all. Perhaps I'd make up things to bridge those gaps and then it's no longer my dream, so I don't think I'll go with that suggestion.

 

[TopNotch]

First Thing Water
Multiplank Day 29
Walkabout Day 29
Wall-Sit Day 29
Ninja Day 29
Standing Abs Day 27
Zero Hero Day 27
Epic Legs Day 1
Arms and Abs Day 1
Jogging around the house, 50 minutes. So I decided not simply to jog on the spot but to be adventurous! So I jogged just over 7m down the hall and back to the lounge, across in front of the Kloudsac at which point I did a 270-degree circle-turn and then jogged another 3.5m through the dining room to the slider door, then back to the lounge and up the hall again. Only on coming down from the hall would I go in front of the Kloudsac. I was pleased that I could keep jogging for all this time.
Chest press 3 x 12
DB pullovers 3 x 12 - I increased the weight on these a little but it meant that I had to focus harder on keeping that left shoulder in position. Not a bad thing, I suppose.
DB flyes 3 x 12. The second set was interrupted when a curious dog shoved his snout into my face - given I was at that convenient height. I'd had to remove the cat from the weight bench but fear not, good folk, she made her way back there once I was done!
Only lifted about four Grand Pianos today.

Last night was not exactly a Good Night so I thought I'd take things a little easy today but then I wondered if I wasn't just using that as an excuse and there wasn't really a need to take things easy. Once I got started, anyway, things felt okay.
The chooks have been really slack the last week or so and I gave them a stern talking-to yesterday. Today they left me two eggs so we're good again.

 

[TopNotch]

First Thing Water
Standing Abs Day 28
Zero Hero Day 28
Epic Legs Day 2
Arms and Abs Day 2

Was going to be hot today (got to 37) but I had to go shopping. I'd been putting it off for a while and things were beginning to look a little desperate. Made a nice cold smoothie when I got home and spent the rest of the day doing an awful lot of not much. Amazing how much of that you can squeeze into a day!

Started the day with a good laugh, which is always an excellent way to start any day. I must have been so overwhelmed by the girls having given me eggs yesterday that I forgot to shut the door of their pen. Consequently, they were out and hovering around the back slider this morning. Creed stepped out onto the concrete pad, saw them, turned around and came back in. I sent him out because, well, he'd been in all night! A little later, I saw Creed sniffing around where the chooks had been, and Rosie bustled over. Creed quickly moved away. Then he decided to investigate their run, given the door was open. Just as he neared it, Rosie rushed toward him, not quite flying across the yard as she has been wont to do, but those wings were flapping and she was moving! Creed lit out and I reckon if I hadn't opened the slider, he would have crashed right through it. The chooks barely come up to his armpit but, just like the cat, they've put him in his place. Females can do that. Poor fellow.

It's funny how, when you've got animals, you can never exercise alone. It's a common phenomenon.

Except Creed comes in with the tongue and then collapses beside/on me, head then shoulders and finally the rest of him.

 

[Laura Rainbow Dragon]

Spoiler: What disappeared from TopNotch's log today?

Congratulations on completing the 2-Minute Multiplank, Walkabout, Wall-Sit, and Ninja (again, I think) Challenges!

 

[NancyTree]

Spoiler: What disappeared from TopNotch's log today?

Congratulations on completing the 2-Minute Multiplank, Walkabout, Wall-Sit, and Ninja (again, I think) Challenges!

 

[TopNotch]

@Laura Rainbow Dragon If I don't say it, it hasn't happened, right?

First Thing Water
Standing Abs Day 29
Zero Hero Day 29 - I'm going to have to look for a new programme. Now, do I want a new new programme, or an renewed old new programme? So many to choose from...
Epic Legs Day 3
Arms and Abs Day 3
Guardian Day 1 + 50 goblins - I know I said I'd look for ones I've not done before, but this one was fun
12K Steps Daily Day 1 - I kind of enjoy my jogging up and down the hall. I'm really pleased I can keep doing so for 50+ minutes. I reckon even a year ago that would have been a stretch. Yay for CV fitness, hey?

Trying to be a bit more adventurous culinarily-speaking. For the first time in my life (as far as I know) I had cottage cheese. Mixed it in with one whole egg and two egg whites and scrambled it up. Served on a slice of toast for lunch. My attempt to a) spread my protein throughout the day better, and b) eat more than one meal a day. A couple of protein shakes through the day followed by a large, heavy-protein dinner that I can barely squeeze in is not good. As it was today, I hit my protein goal but I'm down on the carb (not that there's an exact goal there) and low on the calories which isn't good because then my body hoards. Still, I'll sort things out. Sometime.

Got some good work done today.

 

[TopNotch]

First Thing Water
Epic Legs Day 4
Arms and Abs Day 4
Guardian Day 2 + 200 goblins
12K Steps Daily Day 2
Jogging-around-the-house - 25 minutes. Felt too tired today to do the usual 50 or so minutes, but then the sleep score was 44 so I'm not surprised. I didn't push it today but got everything done.
PD - a bit over an hour

Gave Creed an apple this morning. He likes to eat them outside but when he stepped out and saw the chooks, he came right back in and looked dolefully at me. So I took his apple and tossed it into the yard because he loves to play with an apple before eating it (rather like the cat with a mouse, only he actually does eat it!). Joyously, he took off after it, but the chooks got to it first. If a dog could slump his shoulders, I'm sure he would have. So I went out and retrieved his apple and he ate it in his bed. At least I can be confident he's not going to attack the chooks!

The Lad had given me a puzzle he'd picked up in an Op Shop. He knew I had several of this sort (Impossibles. No edge pieces and five spares) but was pretty sure (and quite correct) that I didn't have this one of cows wearing purple gumboots. Absolutely no part of the actual puzzle was represented by the picture on the box apart from the actual shapes of the cows. The newer productions show an actual part of the puzzle on the box, but not the older ones. The funny thing about these puzzles is they go slowly to begin with and then there is a tipping point after which everything just rushes to completion. Not my favourite, but the Lad had got it for me so I had to do it. The things we do for our children, hey?

 

[Laura Rainbow Dragon]

Aw! for Creed! Those chickens are mean to terrorize him!

Spoiler: Secret

Congratulations on completing Zero Hero and the Standing Abs Challenge!

 

[TopNotch]

First Thing Water
Epic Legs Day 5
Arms and Abs Day 5
Guardian Day 3 - All Clear!
12K Steps Daily Day 3
Ronin's Blade Day 1
Hike - 50 minutes.
PD - 1 hr, 25 mins

 

[PetiteSheWolf]

That's one crazy puzzle, my eyes would go all wonky, LOL!

 

[NancyTree]

Cool puzzle! Kudo's for you taking the challenge!

 

[TopNotch]

First Thing Water
Epic Legs Day 6
Arms and Abs Day 6
Guardian Day 4 + 100 Goblins
12K Steps Daily Day 4
Ronin's Blade Day 2
Iron Arms Day 1

So, had a bit of a surprise yesterday. In the middle of the afternoon, the Lad rang and asked if we could have the "sleep-over" tonight. I told him to clear it with OP, and then I picked him up and we got back to my place around 5. He played a bit on Marcy and then we had dinner. I hadn't planned for him coming over so dinner was half a repeat of what I had had for lunch - so I wasn't really in the mood for another pile of coleslaw. Didn't matter - he scoffed most of it! Played Mah Jong which he won and a board game (Fisho) which I won (by luck!). This morning he was up first and Creed got up too, and eventually I peeled myself out of bed. It would have been a wonderful night except that he needed the loo at zero dark and forgot about the pull-up bar in the bathroom doorway so tried to close the door and instead knocked the bar to the floor. And so I woke up. Fortunately, I went back to sleep quickly and my sleep report was a lovely Continuous. This morning, I mixed cottage cheese with eggs and scrambled them up and we ate that on toast. He's always so complimentary about my cooking. He fed Creed an apple, collected an egg from the chooks, and then discovered that he could Snapchat me even without a sim card in his phone. We had a lot of fun playing with filters and such. Just before noon we went out to the shops. He has a school camp in a little over 3 weeks' time and no clothes, and he actually allowed me to buy him some clothes - which he even tried on! Two pairs of cargo pants, one pair of plain pants, one pair of tracky-daks, two long-sleeved ts, four short-sleeved ts, a pair of black sport shoes that will be good for school, a thin water-resistant jacket, a cap (not for camp but he wanted one), and we even managed to find a sun-smart hat which he liked. So, ticked all the boxes - except we forgot about the daypack, but he has time to get one. When we got back to my place, he actually changed into the new (clean!) clothes. Then I took him back and he kept Snapchatting me, even while I was sitting beside him! And again this evening. It's a little annoying, but also kinda nice.

Reading through some other threads brought this song to mind, so here I offer this to you all as a little support/encouragement:

 

[Lady Celerity]

Great song! Never give up, never surrender!

 

[TopNotch]

First Thing Water
Epic Legs Day 7
Arms and Abs Day 7
Guardian Day 5 - All Clear!
12K Steps Daily Day 5
Ronin's Blade Day 3
Iron Arms Day 2
PD - 1 1/2 hours

Finally sorted out my larder. When I moved in, things came along in bits and pieces and were shoved in where they fit. Since then, I've kept things similarly organised within the cupboard, but not really logically organised. It's a horrible larder. It's a corner cupboard so the corner part of it is the hardest to reach. Like everything else in this house, it's also small - the opening is only 45cm, which would be okay if I were simply facing a normal-shaped cupboard. One day I'll get it changed but right now it's as well organised as I can make it. And I found the bottle of vinegar I'd bought from the stockfeed place for the chickens, so that's another win!

Isn't it cute when the cat is purring on your lap and you pat her for a bit but then when you use your hand for the purpose of typing, she reaches out and gently pulls it back to her?


@Lady Celerity you need another song for all that!

 

[PetiteSheWolf]

Isn't it cute when the cat is purring on your lap and you pat her for a bit but then when you use your hand for the purpose of typing, she reaches out and gently pulls it back to her?

They sure know how to make us melt, righto?!

 

[Lady Celerity]

@Lady Celerity you need another song for all that!

You're speaking my language. Thanks for the song.

 

[TopNotch]

First Thing Water
Epic Legs Day 8
Arms and Abs Day 8
Guardian Day 6 + 50 Goblins
12K Steps Daily Day 6 - fewer steps than yesterday, as it happens, but I'm not in bed yet. 14,732 as of right now.
Ronin's Blade Day 4 - omitted mentioning yesterday that I had decided to Fight to Kill. Discovered today that I hadn't been very good at that. Still, glad I chose that option! Sometimes I think those chooks have a death wish - or perhaps they are really "playing chicken" when they cluster around me while I'm swinging my bokken! Occasionally I had to stop and wait for them to move along.
Iron Arms Day 3
Jogging-around-the-house for about an hour.
PD - 1 1/4 hours

Had to go shopping today so got out before it became too hot. Bought new nail clippers for Creed as the ones I had simply would not go through his nails. Managed to clip four nails. Well, it's a start.

Funny thing, before I started focusing on my diet, everything was pretty stable, even though my diet was frequently rubbish (but yummy!). Then I began using MFP and things started going downhill. Okay, it didn't help that my exercise routine also significantly contracted but I've been inert in the past. Today I looked again at MFP and I wonder if things aren't going well simply because I'm not eating enough. No, I'm not getting skinny (that would be an obvious giveaway!), but MFP was telling me to eat about 4000kj (about 950cal) less than any other calculator I've come across today. So perhaps my body was frantically storing everything that came its way. So I'm going to focus on only one thing henceforth and that's my protein intake. Everything else, I reckon, will fall in line somehow or other. I also bought some containers today so I can meal prep - though is it really "prepping" when you've actually cooked the meal and then tossed it in the freezer so all it needs is heating up prior to consumption? Or is it just "batch cooking"? Whatever. I'll cook a lot of something and then portion it up so when I'm feeling lazy (which is pretty much all the time!), I've still got a good meal available. Of course, I have to get off my lazy long enough to cook!

 

[PetiteSheWolf]

LOL, I think the chicken want to learn some technics from you to better bully Creed!

 

[FlowersandPetals]

Just wanted to say I love your cat. But then again, it is a cat so I love them all!

 

[TopNotch]

First Thing Water
Epic Legs Day 9
Arms and Abs Day 9
Guardian Day 7 + 50 Goblins
12K Steps Daily Day 7
Ronin's Blade Day 5 - could do this one inside without risking my ceiling!
Iron Arms Day 4
PD - 1 hour

Had a productive day today. Not one of those where you get a whole heap of stuff done and feel fantastic for finally having done it, but rather where a couple of things that have been hanging around for ages finally get crossed off that To-Do list. I had to call the Revenue Office because they keep sending me arrears notices for my land tax but I've told them twice now that the property is no longer available for rent. Finally (after really bad hold musak) got talking to someone (yeah, an overseas call centre. I really hate that!) and the woman said that yes, my completed form from August hadn't been actioned yet because they "had a backlog"! I was very calm and asked how come the backlog was over five months and I'd so far been sent three arrears notices? No answer to that, of course. Anyway, that should be done now. I hope. Third time's the charm.
Then I contacted a few builders who contacted me back. One's coming over on Friday, the other on Monday, and I'll find out what they have to say and their quotes. So finally that's in train.
And something else that I'd kind of thought of from time to time. Apparently, about 40% of fruit and veg is rejected because it's too big or too small or kinky or has skin marks, etc etc etc. But some people organise to rescue this perfectly good food and sell it for less than the supermarkets, in delivered boxes. Not hugely cheaper, but a bit cheaper. So I signed up to get 14kg of 20 different varieties of seasonal fruit and veg, delivered fortnightly (though I can change that). I did this not only to get more fruit and veg into me but also to get different fruit and veg into me. I won't know what I'll get until I get it, and then I'll have to meal-plan seriously! Or preserve. It's kind of exciting. I get my first box Saturday after next.
With the Lad potentially coming over again and staying the night, I thought I'd better get to emptying the last few crates of books in the library (where he slept) and have winnowed out another 1 1/2 crates-worth of book to be donated. Sure, things aren't on the shelves yet and some on the shelves will probably have to come off them, but I'm getting there.

@PetiteSheWolf I think it's the chickens who will be giving me pointers!

@FlowersandPetals Just for you (though anyone else is welcome to look too!), here's Footsy being cute, rubbing herself up against my outoor clogs:

I've turfed her off my lap so that I can type this three times already but she keeps coming back and lying on my arms. This last time, I moved her to where I have 100% use of one hand and about 40% of the other (she's resting her head on the back of that hand so I can't move it because - disturb the cat?).

 

[PetiteSheWolf]

Footsy has the cute act really very very well perfected! Down to the "Here's the cute furry belly down there, but don't you dare come rub it because IT'S A TRAP" !

 

[FlowersandPetals]

Aw thank you! She looks like my Stormy!