Waterscape

[AquaMarie]

March 20: Baseline day 3 level 2; Unbound day 3; Wall Push-ups day 3
March 21: Unbound day 4
March 23: Baseline day 4 level 2; Unbound day 5; Wall Push-ups day 4
March 25: Baseline day 5 level 2; Unbound day 6; Wall Push-ups day 5

I've been put in charge of another gallery at work! It's a good opportunity, but it means that I am overseeing three areas (in three different buildings!) two days a week. I'm exhausted on those days from all the walking and standing, and I'm wondering if working on my stamina and endurance will help. Of course, first I need to figure out 1) are stamina and endurance the same thing, actually, or do I need to figure out which one I need to improve first , and 2) HOW exactly one improves their stamina and/or endurance.

Time to schedule some quality time with ye olde search engine, I guess.

 

[AquaMarie]

March 27: Baseline day 6 level 2
March 30: Wall Push-ups day 6
April 5: Unbound day 7, Wall Push-ups day 7
April 7: Baseline day 7 level 1, Unbound day 8, Wall Push-ups day 8
April 8: Baseline day 8 level 2

Okay, well I DID look up the difference between stamina and endurance (to oversimplify: stamina is how long you can go at your max, endurance is how long you can go at your normal), and now I know I need to work on my endurance.

How does one improve their endurance? Cardio.
I Do Not Like cardio.

Can't I just, like, do light weight training really fast? That'll get my heart rate up, right?

 

[Tileenah]

You can do cardio hiit, at least it will be fast

 

[AquaMarie]

April 11 to May 13: Baseline days 9 to 19 (level 1 or 2), Wall Push-Ups days 9 to 19, and Unbound days 9 to 19

Wow, a whole month ! And I only got 10 days of my programs done. Oops. Unfortunately, when I get stressed out the first thing I neglect is the self-care that would help me deal with it - journaling and workouts. I'm not doing that intentionally, mind you, that's just how it always seems to go.

Well, now that I'm back from my trip (business travel for a week), hopefully I can get back to the 3-4 day a week workout schedule.

I finished a great book called Lost Feast by Lenore Newman on the trip. It's about the different species of plants and animals that we eat that have gone extinct and the different factors that wiped them out. She talks about what may happen in the future to food species, too. A really fascinating read, and I mined a lot of books from the reference section to check out. Like Butter: A Rich History by Elaine Khosrova .

 

[AquaMarie]

May 16: Baseline day 20 level 1, Wall Push-ups day 20, Unbound day 20
May 17: Baseline day 21 level 1, Wall Push-ups day 21, Unbound day 21
May 19: Baseline day 22 level 1, Wall Push-ups day 22
May 20: Unbound day 22

Well, it took a little longer than I expected - I could only work on it when the cat was otherwise occupied, or she'd play with the yarn - but my afghan is finally finished!

 

[Tileenah]

Congrats on completing afghan ! Looks really cool !

 

[BetaCorvi]

Ooh, I love the look of that blanket! Binder holes and everything!

 

[mossy]

Thats such a clever design you made! Congrats!

 

[aku-chan]

A notebook blanket, that's awesome!

 

[NancyTree]

Cool! What are you going to use it for?

 

[AquaMarie]

@Tileenah @BetaCorvi @aku-chan Thank you so much!

@mossy Thank you! I can't take all the credit for the design - I saw a picture of it online. But I was too cheap to buy the pattern, so I used math and guesswork to get it as close as I could

@NancyTree Thank you! It lives on my couch for snuggling right now, but it's big enough to go on the bed this winter.

May 23: Baseline day 23 level 1, Wall Push-ups day 23, Unbound day 23
May 26: Baseline day 24 level 1
May 27: Wall Push-ups day 24, Unbound day 24
May 30: Unbound day 25
June 1: Unbound day 26

Lots of work stuff this week. I was there from midnight to 4:00 AM one night (getting a green moray and two Atlantic stingrays acclimated to their new home with us). I was so tired and sore all week that stretches were all I could face, lol. Thank goodness for the Unbound program!

 

[AquaMarie]

Lord help me, I have GOT to get better at updating!

June 3 - June 24: Baseline days 25 - 30, Wall Push-ups days 25 - 30, Unbound days 27 - 30

Yep, finally, nearly SIX MONTHS later, I have finally finished two programs and a challenge:

My rewards: A mini-blender so I can make smoothies and shakes, and a shopping spree at the pet store since the cat and I both are getting bored with her current toys.

One more program and three more challenges to reach my goal for the year!

 

[BetaCorvi]

Congrats!

 

[Shadowgast]

Congrats, enjoy your mini blender

 

[Fremen]

Congrats

 

[Tileenah]

Congrats !

 

[Mamatigerj]

 

[AquaMarie]

@BetaCorvi @Shadowgast @Fremen @Tileenah @Mamatigerj Thank you all!

June 25: Reboot day 1, Ninja challenge day 1 (note: everything is going to be level 1 on both, because )
June 26: Reboot day 2, Ninja day 2
June 27: Reboot day 3, Ninja day 3
June 28: Ninja day 4
June 30: Reboot day 4
July 1: Ninja day 5

Things I have made this week with my new favorite toy:
Cold brew coffee shake
Cherry almond protein shake
Orange creamsicle shake - twice
Strawberry maple shake
Blueberry oat drink
Blueberry almond mash up (I was trying to use the last of the blueberries and just kind of tossed whatever sounded good in there, lol)

And all on one charge, too! My favorites are the cold brew shake and the cherry almond protein shake. I get the feeling it's going to get a lot of use this summer.

 

[Tileenah]

Sounds yummy !

 

[NancyTree]

Belated congrats on your badges!
Good luck with getting to your yearly goal, you can do it!

 

[AquaMarie]

July 2: Reboot day 5, Ninja day 6
July 3: Reboot day 6, Ninja day 7
July 4: Reboot day 7, Ninja day 8
July 5: Ninja day 9
July 7: Reboot day 8, Ninja day 10

I've been 'playing' Animal Crossing: New Leaf every day the last three weeks. But by playing I mean parking my character on a seat and just letting the music and ambient sounds play in the background...for hours . I really like the campground theme. During the day there's birdsong on top of it, and at night it's a campfire crackling!

 

[AquaMarie]

July 9: Reboot day 9, Ninja day 11
July 10: Reboot day 10, Ninja day 12
July 11 Reboot day 11
July 14: Reboot day 12, 1 set (my elbow went "NOPE"; also am I procrastinating burpee day for the Ninja challenge? Yes, yes I am)

The gallery I am in charge of at work has a steampunk theme based on the book 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. We want to tie our aquariums into the theme, so my biologists have been sending me lots of steampunk inspiration photos and ideas for how we could use them in the fish tanks.

Last week I got all the parts in to make a poseable, fish-safe version of this guy. I'm so excited to make this thing! A couple of them, actually: one we can paint and seal and then put in the tanks for decoration that the fish can explore, and another we can cover in gel diet for the fish to nibble. I'm hoping I can make some 'hands' for him, too, so he can hold things for the fish to eat or things they can hide in for a bit.

I think I'll call him Albert.

 

[Mamatigerj]

Ooh, Albert sounds very cool; i hope you will post pictures.

 

[NancyTree]

Albert looks awesome!

 

[AquaMarie]

@Mamatigerj @NancyTree Thank you! Alas, Albert is going to take a bit more pipe than I thought, so I have to wait for another order to come in. I will definitely post pics when I get him done, though!

July 16: Reboot day 13, Ninja day 13 (take that, burpees! )
July 17: Reboot day 14, Ninja day 14
July 22: Reboot day 15 (1 set, because abs went ), Ninja day 15

I had a COVID scare Tuesday night - I've gone all three years of this pandemic without getting it, then my coworker tests positive. My favorite COVID news website recommends total rest if you have it, and I decided that meant that I should not be exercising until I had three negative tests and was sure I was okay. Not the most logical conclusion, I know, but it knocked the anxiety WAY down to be doing something (not doing something?) besides just waiting to see if I got sick, so....

I am happy to report that I got my third negative test on Saturday, and I can now continue kicking butt!

 

[AquaMarie]

July 24: Reboot day 16, Ninja day 16
July 27: Reboot day 17, Ninja day 17
July 28: Reboot day 18 (1 set, because I'm still fighting with my elbow, and the elbow is still winning ), Ninja day 18
July 29: Reboot day 19, Ninja day 19

My cat has learned to say 'mama.' Most cats do, in my experience - probably because they learn that a short, two-part meow gets the human's attention faster and more consistantly than any other sound.

Except in Annie's case it isn't just 'mama.' It's more like, "MaMA!!!" It's pushy and demanding and absolutely hilarious. I can't help but laugh and give her attention when she does it.
Which is why she does it a lot.

 

[Tileenah]

More for your elbow!

 

[TheLibrarian]

Happy Birthday.

 

[Tileenah]

 

[Fremen]

Happy Birthday

 

[Matan]

Happy Birthday!

 

[Mamatigerj]

 

[BetaCorvi]

 

[Froud]

Happy belated birthday! So we can celebrate again!

 

[AquaMarie]

@TheLibrarian @Tileenah @Fremen @Matan @Mamatigerj @BetaCorvi @Froud Thank you all so much! I bought lots of good books and ate lots of good food!

July 30: Reboot day 20, Ninja day 20
July 31: Reboot day 21, Ninja day 21
August 3: Reboot day 22
August 6: Ninja day 23 (Note: My house rule is I get 2 'skip' days per program/challenge. I'm unfortunately going to use them for Ninja day 22 and Reboot day 23...I'm opting for discretion (being the better part of valor) instead of fortitude until my elbow heals up.)

This year's Birthday Book Haul:

Coraline by Neil Gaiman​

Night Watch by Terry Pratchett​

How to Invent Everything: A Survival Guide for the Stranded Time Traveler by Ryan North​

The Egypt Game by Zilpha Keatley Snyder​

The Lights of Prague by Nicole Jarvis​

Witch King by Martha Wells​

The Ministry for the Future by Kim Stanley Robinson​

Thornhedge by T. Kingfisher (preordered)​

It's a pretty good mix of old favorites (that were on sale!), new-to-me titles, and titles I've been eagerly waiting for.

I've already finished Witch King and Coraline .

 

[NancyTree]

Belated

You have a cool cat

 

[AquaMarie]

@NancyTree Thank you!

August 8: Seated Mobility
August 16: Sofa Abs
August 18: Seated Warrior
August 20: Rainmaker

Well, of all the bones to break, I suppose toes are the least inconvenient. Not that it's fun, mind you, but at least I can still walk normally now, two weeks later.
Just not on hills. Or stairs. And no pivoting on my left foot. And apparently it's gonna be like this for 6 to 8 weeks. Can you tell I'm not a patient patient?

I have a bad habit of thinking that I'm healed as soon as I feel the least bit better, too, and end up re-injuring myself a lot. So this time I'm gonna game my brain: I have two 6-week daily progress trackers (one for meds and one for heating pad/ice pack sessions), stamper markers, and an 8:00 PM alarm set on my phone. Every night at eight I take care of my elbow and my foot, I stamp the date on my trackers, and when they're full I'm gonna give myself a reward, dang it. Past experience says that scheduling, progress trackers, and rewards seem to be the magic combo for me to reach mid- to long-term goals, lol.

And I give myself permission to pause the Reboot and Ninja programs until week four to make sure I'm good and healed. So I'm gonna stick to the Seated, Sofa, and Upper Body Collections for another two weeks. Hopefully that will keep my momentum going well enough to pick right back up and finish Reboot and Ninja in time for a reward of spooky season shopping!

 

[Mamatigerj]

Healing thoughts and prayers!

I have a bad habit of thinking that I'm healed as soon as I feel the least bit better, too, and end up re-injuring myself a lot. So this time I'm gonna game my brain: I have two 6-week daily progress trackers (one for meds and one for heating pad/ice pack sessions), stamper markers, and an 8:00 PM alarm set on my phone. Every night at eight I take care of my elbow and my foot, I stamp the date on my trackers, and when they're full I'm gonna give myself a reward, dang it. Past experience says that scheduling, progress trackers, and rewards seem to be the magic combo for me to reach mid- to long-term goals, lol.

Great plan!

 

[NancyTree]

Btw, I liked Coraline a lot. I listened to it as an audio book, it was recorded by the writer himself.

 

[Tileenah]

seems you have a solid plan for the following weeks
Tell us what you rewarded yourself with afterwards!

 

[AquaMarie]

@Mamatigerj @NancyTree @Tileenah Thank you all!
@NancyTree Oh, yeah, Neil Gaiman does a fantastic job as a narrator. I've listened to The Graveyard Book a few times and absolutely love it.

August 21: Cozy Up
August 22: Stapler
August 25: 600 punches (3 sets of 200; I ran out of data and couldn't access Darebee )

"All I wanted to do was lie in the dry grass with my feet in a ditch forever. I could be a convenient sort of milemarker, I thought. Get to the thief and you know you're halfway to Methana." - The Thief, Megan Whalen Turner

(context: After a long, hard ride on a hated horse, the titular thief 'falls' off and refuses to go farther that day. It's a hilarious scene in a fantastic book )

 

[AquaMarie]

August 27: Super X
August 28: Movie Night
August 30: Dexterity
September 2: Rotator Cuff

After a long, LONG dry spell, I have picked up my crafting again! It feels so good to actually use the supplies I've been hauling from one apartment to another . This weekend I knocked together some draft blockers for my windows - filled with rice, which of course made a mess, and the cat tried to eat what ended up in the floor. I can only imagine what the neighbor thinks hearing, "Leave that alone; you are not an herbivore!"

I'm also working on the crochet strawberry plant from this book, which is expanding my skills a bit. The leaves are worked around floral wire so you can shape and pose them, which I've never done before. Strawberries are my favorite, but I'm super tempted to pause it and make a gerbera or two for fall (you can see both on this website if you scroll down a bit). They'd look so nice with my crochet pumpkins....

I'll post pictures when I finish one or the other!

 

[AquaMarie]

September 3: Neck and Shoulders
September 4: Catch and Release
September 6: Reboot day 24 (1 set), Ninja day 24
September 9: Reboot day 25 (1 set), Ninja day 25 (or, well, I tried at least )

"My memory of the fight was as fuzzy as a Pasicol sheep and had teeth just as sharp." --K.B. Wagers, Behind the Throne

I LOVE this sentence. It an amazing simile, and it also is a nifty bit of worldbuilding (the book is a sci-fi adventure). All in one sentence. I really hope we get to go to Pasicol and meet a sheep in this story, just because of that sentence .

 

[AquaMarie]

September 10: Reboot day 26 (1 set), Ninja day 26
September 14: Reboot day 27 (1 set), Ninja day 27

Rough week last week, mental health-wise. I have a mood/pain/journaling app called Moodflow that uses a 1-5 scale (1 is horrible, 3 is neutral, 5 is fantastic). I love this app, I'm a huge statistics and data nerd, and this app puts it all in pretty pictures and graphs for me. It's super easy to use and customize, and I use it to track my anxiety over the course of each day. My baseline is 2.7 for the week (it's come up 0.2 since last year!).
Last week was a 2.4.

I'm trying to remember that it's okay to take it easy when I'm this bad, but...yeah. I feel guilty for not working out. Working out helps anxiety, dang it! Why can't I just do it? Because if my brain is the Force:

 

[Gandhalfit]

I'm trying to remember that it's okay to take it easy when I'm this bad, but...yeah. I feel guilty for not working out. Working out helps anxiety, dang it! Why can't I just do it?

A friend reminded me yesterday to "just get started" no matter how much you'll do, just start and see where it takes you.

 

[NancyTree]

I'm sorry you feel so anxious

 

[Mamatigerj]

 

[Zenchan]

I hope you are feeling better.
The problem with stress and anxiety is that you don't want to work out, but if you don't work out you get even more stressed and anxious... it is a downward spiral.

 

[AquaMarie]

@Gandhalfit @NancyTree @Mamatigerj @Zenchan Thank you all so much!

September 17: Reboot day 28 (2 sets! progress )
September 18: Ninja day 28
September 22: Reboot day 29 (all! three! sets! )
September 24: Ninja day 29
September 28: Reboot day 30, Ninja day 30

Theeeeeey're DONE! How many months did it take me to do a thirty day program? Ah, well. That's just how it works with me, I guess.

But I finished it! And I met my goal of three Darebee programs completed this year. Two more challenges and my New Year's resolution will be complete, too! If I make it I think I'll buy one of those fancy, expensive percussion massagers. My chiropractor uses one on my IT band and quads every once in a while to loosen those tendons and muscles up, and it makes my back and knee feel much better.

 

[NancyTree]