redtomato501

1. Just one chapter left of The Art of Memoir by Mary Karr on audiobook. Non-fiction by audiobook seems to really be working out for me, so I need to figure out my next read there! 2. Reading Please look after Mom by Kyung-Sook Shin as an ebook on my phone - has been somewhat slow going, but I'm getting used to the style, the use of second-person that was so jarring, and I'm falling for the story. Absolutely touching, 60% of the way through. 3. Also reading Les lumières de frigo by Alain Gagnol - it's just easy enough that I can understand most of the story with looking up only the occasional word, so using it to build up my confidence and comfort with French. I see that a few other people have been reading non-fiction - any that you particularly recommend, find interesting?

I'd be curious to learn how the edamame pasta was - got some black bean spaghetti at Costco once and thought that stuff was nasty, despite several attempts at preparing it...

I would echo oddspongeout's comments, that 1. Plant-based protein is going to generally come with more carbs, and 2. It really depends on the kind of vegetarian you are. Since you don't claim to be vegan in your first post, I'm assuming you do eat some animal products (but not the meat itself), so that would be a clear source of protein: eggs, milk, greek yogurt, some cheese, etc. Fish, if you make that exception as some do. Otherwise, it sounds like you know what your veg options are, and yes, it makes it difficult (if it's even possible) to hit the macros that some people recommend, but I've heard of plenty of vegetarian/vegan athletes, so it's clearly possible to make your diet work for you!

I bought a mid-level blender, and it still wasn't strong enough for ice-crushing and smooth blending. For the power I got out of a $100 model, I can equal and diversify with a $30 immersion stick/food processor combo, so I gave my blender away. I may get one again someday, but only if I can afford a top level. The cheaper, less powerful ones just didn't cut it for me. That being said, if you're fine with a lower-power model to test your devotion - I did the same thing with food dehydrators - then by all means, test it out! You might consider checking with friends, though, and seeing if anyone has a blender they don't use that you can borrow for a month. So many people have unused blenders, especially in the winter. Gives you a chance to try before you huy, and a better sense of whether or not you'll need the higher-powered model to be satisfied.

1. audiobook - I just downloaded My Father Would Have Shot Me by Jenifer Teege 2. physical book - The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula Le Guin, still - I'm struggling to be inspired to read this one 3. ebook - Sophie's Choice by William Styron - 50% with 3 days left on the check-out, eek! 4. French - D'un monde à l'autre by Pierre Bottero - it's going really slowly, but trying to get back into confidence with French. I was reading The Art of Memoir by Mary Karr on ebook, but I'm going to switch to audiobook for that, I seem to do nonfiction better that way.

Yes - I'm currently doing:1. An audiobook (Wild by Cheryl Strayed) 2. A physical book (The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula Le Guin) 3. An ebook (Midnight Riot by Ben Aaronovitch) At any point, #2 or #3 may share its spot with another book due to a change in mood, or #2 because I misplaced it/left it at work etc.

I've been reading through the Alex Verus series by Benedict Jack since Christmas, so I've read Fated, Cursed, Taken, Chosen and Hidden. Reading Veiled today/tomorrow, then the next one, Burned, doesn't come out until April.

Brunch on Saturday, January 23, with a monumental walk in there somewhere? Brunch opens could then stretch from Capitol Hill, past SW and Gallery, to Foggy Bottom, lots of options depending on the monuments of choice!

A seriously interesting book is Sophie's World by Jostein Gaarder, who is generally an interesting author. If you haven't read any Naguib Mahfouz, check him out, especially the Palace Walk Trilogy.

Heck, we'll take people from California if they want to make the trek. Of course you're welcome! We're friendly nerds.

Emma, I've never met you on NF before, but just from this thread I'm thinking you're pretty fantastic. Reading books and living a quiet life are fantastic things, as are strength-training and road trips. Continue learning about yourself, pushing your boundaries in safe ways, and reassessing what you want from life, because it all sounds like it's working for you. Sincerely, Emma

Off to a good start! And I would note, on the topic of "trying a challenge one more time"... even if you completely fail this challenge, don't let that stop you from a future one! I've "failed" so many challenges, sometimes because of things within my control, and sometimes from things outside of my control, but I keep coming back for new ones because I'm not going to give up on myself. One that I have learned, however, is to really make things as easy as possible to win so I can incrementally increase from there. You look like you're doing pretty well with your food goal, for having such an extensive list of expectations! How are you building the exercise plans into your schedule?

Looks like a good start to the challenge! I love all the pictures too. With the yoga stuff, are you pulling it from anything in particular, e.g. NF yoga? Are most of those songs on your set list from recent years? I stopped listening to new music after my school days for the most part, so I only recognized #6. I should put guitaring into a future challenge, I never do it anymore...

In the last challenge, I planned to workout with a focus on weightlifting, and to do an online course about marketing to learn some new skillz. Instead, I fractured my ankle and lost at-home internet access for several weeks. *sigh* Health Goal (because workout goal ain't happening) I'm out of the boot after about 35 days, finally, and have been re-adapting to walking. While I'm pretty happy with my basic movements, I need to keep up with what my physical therapist is telling me to do. I never really did the exercises he gave me after my first session, so I just had session two yesterday, and I really want/need to better - gotta get those ankle/calf/hip muscles back in order! Life Goal Keep up with language learning - I'm working off of a couple weeks of going hard and heavy (perhaps excessively so) on trying to brush my French back up, so I want to maintain the daily minimums that I've set up one these apps. Am currently using Duolingo and Memrise, which do slightly different things for me. Great thing is that while I prefer to do Duolingo on the computer, it works just fine on my phone, so if my internet access is lost again, I'm not up a creek on this goal. I would like to get back into that marketing course, but that's an extra credit deal. Both of these goals will be a particular challenge over the next week, as I'll be in Florida next week for a work conference. Eep. Other things that would be wonderful include: eating better (now that I can stand and cook again), clean my apartment (which got wrecked during my injury), get rid of stuff (because packrats-R-US), read (because previous reading time has been usurped by language apps), and save money (because holidays). No goals around these, just extra credit, because I do want to focus on the two listed up top. I usually hang out with the Warriors, but since I can't participate in the barbell love during this challenge, I figured I'd hang out with a different group of nerds. It may be twelve days into the challenge, but whatevs, these goals need to happen. So hi, lovely adventurers.

I've been reading the four book series of The Long Price Quartet by Daniel Abraham (starts with A Shadow in Summer). I absolutely love it, both the plotline and the writing itself are great. I'm on the fourth book, and I'm almost sad to finish it. Also listening to The Book of Strange New Things by Michael Faber. Am about halfway through, enjoying it, and really curious to see where it goes.... definitely not my usual fare!

I don't not-read books once I start them, but this one was an exception for me. Clearly you've gotten farther than I did! I'll try again someday...

October 17 and 18? Anything for those days? I'm in a boot (fractured ankle) so no hiking or sports for me, but thought I'd throw a couple dates out there. Would love to Renn Faire if people don't mind a slow pace! (Didn't put in Doodle because of hiking option)

So every once in a while, the DC wifi from my local library is strong enough to catch in my apartment... apartment wifi is still messed up, but I can get on for a little bit today! :-D Thanks, vibrantnotions, AAB and albeus51! Good news is that thanks to my friend, I got in to the ortho a couple days ago, instead of my original appointment which was until next Friday, so 10 days earlier! That means I've got a boot (yay mobility!) and more information. Turns out that my fracture is on a similar level to a sprain, but instead of tearing the muscle I chipped off a tiny piece of bone. So, I'm in a boot for the next month, and ortho suggested that at my follow-up on Oct 30 I can probably take the boot off and start PT, and that I could be playing ultimate frisbee again another month after that! Yay! (Although I'll probably wait until spring on the frisbee, just to be safe... I've never actually done kettlebell swings before At first I was all insistent that I was going to get back into the gym and at least do bench presses, maybe some seated OHP or something, but I underestimated how tired I would get while healing, so that hasn't happened yet. Gym is also a little further than I want to walk right now, but maybe in another few days or a week I'll be up to some home stuff. I'm definitely open to ideas - I figure pushups and planks, sure, but anything that requires stability is hard because the boot rocks on the bottom (makes riding the metro really "fun" if I can't get to a seat in time...). I'll have to look into kettlebell swings, although it'll be more like 8 lb dumbbell swings! And no, I may not be able to squat right now, but I appreciate the feedback as I'll be right back in there once the ortho clears me! Turkish background? I wish! General European mishmash, don't really know beyond a German immigrant for a great-grandfather. We don't really talk about family history or do anything around our own heritage. I did, however, grow up with a mum who has ~1700 (really - not exaggerating) cookbooks, and loved cooking food from all over the world. Any time we went out to eat, the question was what cuisine we wanted - we were never an Outback/Applebee's family. So, I've grown up eating all sorts of stuff, and currently have not just sumac and za'atar, but also garam masala, coriander and whole cardamom pods, lavendar and grains of paradise, methi and amchur, galangal and kaffir lime leaves, etc. I love going to ethnic groceries and just browsing... don't know what it is? Let's buy it and figure it out! Keeps life interesting...

Well. Looks like I need some new goals! Fractured my ankle at Frisbee, so no workouts, and Internet at home isn't working - not an excuse when I can get to a coffeeshop, but a little more challenging on crutches! Goals will probably be monitoring food (because past ankle injuries are the reason I have an extra 20 pounds), and following up with medical advice (currently: need to call orthopedic on Monday for appt.). Will add learning back in if Internet starts working. *sigh*

I'm assuming you're trying to avoid morning cooking? Make on the weekend: frittata with meat, veggies of choice. Slice up, and reheat each morning. Over-night oats: prepare dry ingredients in individual servings (I use oats, Chia and dried currants), then night before take one, pour milk over, and put in fridge. (Don't know what you don't like about oats, but overnight have a different texture, so thought I'd mention them. Morning of, only: yogurt or cottage cheese with fruit. Hard boiled eggs. Pre-cooked sausage, reheated or cold. I've made my own granola bars before, but it was difficult to get the macro balance I wanted. Still, nothing easier to grab and eat, with a stockpile in the freezer! Of course, breakfast could be anything, not just typical breakfast foods, so dinner leftovers work too!

Screen-at-night stuff: I use Twilight on my Android (free). I've also heard a lot of people refer to f.lux (Windows, Mac, Linux, iPhone/iPad). Books: I just don't find books that are not can't-put-them-down books! Then again, I've also always said that I'm not much of a critic. I can only remember ditching one or two books in the last several years, it goes against my nature!

That looks DELICIOUS! You should have called me to come over! Your mouth must have been particularly happy that night. High five, EE!

Thanks for trying, both of you... and yes, AAB, if you think you're seeing my name (Emma) you probably are! I'm not worried about it in this context, but I'll keep that in mind if I ever need to post something more broadly across the internet. Okay, that sent me into a Google-rabbit-hole of locked knees, which apparently has both yay-and nay-sayers, but I can see how that could be dangerous... I also know that I have a propensity for locking out joints and hyperextending even when just standing around, and otherwise engaging in bad habits, but hadn't ever thought of that for my squats. I'll be back in the gym tomorrow, so I'll try to pay more attention then to exactly what I'm doing and how Anything with the squats themselves? Or was the locking out so bad that you didn't even get that far?! Some random guy whose credentials I never got told me I had good form once, and that's about all the critique I've ever had since I first learned!

Still working on the physical book of Good Omens, by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett... been trying to carry it around with me to read it more, but I just don't usually have it when I find reading time! Am e-reading The Bookseller by Cynthia Swanson - only 7% in, but so far, so good. Listening to The Book of Strange New Things by Michel Faber - the audiobook reader has a deep voice, so it's a little difficult for me, especially at the gym, but it's really interesting so far (also probably around 5% in). Recently finished audiobook for The Conch Bearer by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni. I really liked the story, especially in the beginning, but the second half of the book felt rushed, like we were trying to get through the plot before the pages ran out. Still recommend though.

Yes, I have, although it's been years since I read that, or really any of his other books. I read that series several times over when I still lived near my parents (and had access to their books), and I keep meaning to get them from the library and re-read his collection! This is turning into the year of Neil Gaiman, though, so that's almost as good!