Incantor

I have to imagine that they must import chestnuts, but I've never seen them. I only see nuts at Christmas time and then it is usually walnuts and pecans and those mixed nuts with the brazil nuts and hazelnuts.

Last week on the day of my PT appointment I woke up feeling kind of crappy in a generalized way I couldn't put my finger on, thought I might be getting sick. As the day went on my stomach was bothering me, started to get nauseated. Then I started getting a headache and the nausea was getting pretty bad. I thought I might be getting a migraine which I haven't had in a long time. At that point I threw in the towel, went home from work early, and cancelled my appointment. The next morning I felt better, then realized that I'd started my period. Oooooh. I've had the cramps start before the main event before, and sometimes my cramps make me nauseous, but I've never felt nauseous before the cramps started before. Anyway so, I missed that appointment and only went the one time last week. Just got back from today's appointment (we did back this time) and my PT said there was some kind of snafu and she has to cancel the rest of the week including my 2nd appointment for the week. Sigh. Going to leave the appointment in my calendar anyway and try to trick myself into going! I have noticed that my appetite has really lessened ever since the worst of the heat broke, this has made the mindful eating a lot easier. So hopefully I can get back on the losing train for a while, it's hard to stay motivated just hanging out in the station. As for stretching and doing random calisthenics I am really doing well with that, it's become sort of second nature now.

Today was very nice. It was overcast, but at lunchtime it was 75º. Below 80! In the middle of day! I can not communicate how much of a relief that is. Then the sun finally came out and the temp rose just a little. Right now, 7pm, 78º, "feels like" 78º. AHHH. Gotta pack my bag for tomorrow's PT session. I'm thinking it is time for back/glutes!

I do think there is a good possibility that it isn't the actual shrimp but something in the waters that accumulates in them. The reaction does seem to be worse in bigger shrimp than in little ones, but I'm not positive. With you it could be a preservative or something? Is the ingredient list just salmon? I don't think I've ever even SEEN a real chestnut, much less eaten one. I am jealous.

One of my former co-workers had a mild allergy to certain foods, mainly fruits, like watermelon. He described it just like that, he'd eat it and his mouth would get itchy inside. I have some sort of allergy/intolerance to shrimp (and only shrimp, not other crustaceans) that gives me a nice breakout 12 to 48 hours after I eat it. I have recently found that if I take a Benadryl gel cap before the meal, I don't have the breakout. I also avoid eating shrimp most of the time and save it for when I really, really want it. You might want to switch to some other protein for most of your meals, like grilled chicken strips.

Have you calculated your calories? You may feel like you are eating a lot because you get fuller off real food, but really not be eating enough, and your body responds by making you sleepy to conserve energy. I hate counting calories but it might be a good idea to go back and check to make sure. You might also be napping more because of seasonal changes in light intensity. I would advise you to avoid napping though, it throws off your sleep schedule. Anyways, hope you start feeling more energetic soon!

Thanks for the support, sicil! Did not trip over my bag this morning, went to my appointment today, did shoulders/uppers and got in some good time on the assisted pullup among other exercises. My arms feel like overcooked noodles, lol.

Heya sicil. Just checking in to wish you a great next week!

I decided not to go yesterday. I was afraid if I try to ramp back up too soon I might burn out. Today I was out in the sweltering heat for awhile and it just saps me so much, I've spent the rest of the day inside, cursing my AC system for its inadequacy. I am so over this. At any rate, now I am going to force myself to go pack my gym bag for my PT session tomorrow. Wish me luck! Edit: OK, gym bag is packed and next to the door. Hopefully I will notice it before I trip on it on my way out! Trying to psych myself up for tomorrow's session. Must be about time for some fun on that assisted pull up machine! I love that thing.

LOL, thanks for talking me out of it. I probably wouldn't have been able to stand playing it again after 15 years anyway, especially going back to the AD&D 2 ruleset. But what I always loved about Baldur's Gate versus subsequent games is that they had those scripts you could assign to your NPCs that gave them rules for how they should act. Like you have a rogue, you can tell him to hang back and plunk arrows, or you can tell him to be all stealthy stabbity. The cleric can run in wielding the hammer or she can hang back and cast. Modern games never seem to give you that level of control over the behavior of NPC party members. Modding the original game isn't really an option as I don't think I have my BG1 discs anymore and if I do, I have no idea where they are. And modding usually irritates me anyway, it's a lot of headache in my experience unless it is a pretty new game and the modders are keeping their stuff patched up. So back to fitness stuff, last night I was nekkid about to get into bed (sorry TMI) when I put my hands on my hips and realized that they had shrunk a bit and were more firm then squishy. Yay! I'm kind of tempted to go over to the gym today and do a little something but I am worried about overdoing it right when I am starting to feel better. Part of me thinks I should just stick with the plan and go back for my next appointment on Monday, but the other part thinks that's me being lazy and I should go today too. Not sure which part is going to win that tug of war.

I finished this, and I must say I really enjoyed it and it was much better than I expected. I have a few minor quibbles but overall I think he has done well by the character of Danny Torrance.

Made it to my second appointment this week, yay. Core today, sore tomorrow, that's my motto! LOL. But really I won't be sore until Saturday probably. We have my schedule set up so I have twice weekly appointments for the next 3 weeks I think, which is as far as we can schedule right now. Since my appointment on Monday, I've been stretching and doing stuff like working on my squat form (by just doing it really slow and trying to keep my balance and alignment at every point in the movement) while making coffee, random calf raises, that sort of thing. Mindful eating has been pretty good, but I would like to aim for plate-of-$18-oysters level of mindfulness with everything I eat and drink. Again it is much easier to do when alone than when attempting to participate in a social meal, but I am trying to just have that awareness of what I am eating and how full I am even when I'm listening to someone's joke. I don't think it's reasonable to expect to be able to do that perfectly all the time, but I'm aiming for as much as possible. Which principally consists of recognizing when I am NOT and correcting myself, sort of like when you are working on your posture you have to just try to have correct posture all the time and notice when you are slumping and take action. Just have to keep at it. Hey sicil, thought you might like to know that the enhanced edition of Baldur's Gate is on sale on Steam for $5 until Oct 7. I'm thinking of buying it, even though I'm not sure if I could actually play it again. Usually even games I used to love I find unplayable when I reinstall them (I'm looking at you, Diablo 1). But it is such a cool idea to do this to Baldur's Gate that I'd like to support them. And I can imagine myself playing it a little! Maybe.

sicil! Your food pictures are delectable but they make me hungry! I like your landscapey pictures too, looking forward to more of that! What's your weather like right now?

Check out rogaecia, she's killing it! As for the Facebook thing, stop caring what negative Facebook people think about the positive steps you are taking. Don't let them harsh your vibe. Remember that be your own best friend thing? Someone says something judgie to you, your inner voice can just put them in their place. Mine sounds like Ru Paul, but twice as catty, rawr! But seriously, when you feel all doubtful and alone, that's the time to engage in some positive self talk. You know that the behaviors you are changing are making you happier and healthier. So just keep going. You are a big inspiration to me!

I got to part three today, I'm really enjoying it! It does feel similar to old-school Stephen King, but at the same time it feels very current and relevant. It seems quite taut as well, good pacing. Looking forward to seeing what happens next.

Alright, last week I did not make it to the gym at all. Suck. But I did do some off-day exercises/stretching and I'm on a roll with the mindful eating and portion control. The guys at my work ordered some fresh oysters at lunch one day and I had never had them so they foisted some off onto me, I think expecting to watch me squirm and refuse, or try them and be all grossed out and spit them out. But I liked them. And they gave me more. Isn't that sweet? So I decided I wanted to have some this weekend and went to one of the fanciest restaurants in town, sat in the bar, and had oysters. $18 per half dozen oysters. Mindfully. They were amazing, tasted like surfing. I enjoyed examining the shells, each one was different although they were all the same variety. Worth every penny. I think I may start planning a plate of those as a reward at the end of challenges where I can give myself a B or better, as some extra incentive not to slack unnecessarily. Well, challenges in-season, of course. Wouldn't work for the summer. But I should find something similar for those months. Today I went to the gym for my PT session. Last night I noticed that the definition is moving up my legs and now I can see some in the quads. Yay. So we did legs today! I told my PT that I had been kind of beating myself up for showing up so infrequently but at least I've kept doing a little. She said its ok to be in a holding pattern now and then, and pointed out that I haven't regained my initial loss and am still making slow progress which shows that diet is under control. And that in fact she thinks it was a good thing because the easier schedule helped my knees recover. She's right, I can feel that my knees are a lot more stable than they used to be. My weak/hyperextending joint tissues are frustrating, because my muscles can push a lot more weight, but my joint tissues are really sensitive and I have some habitual bad use patterns which contribute (which I'm working on), and joint tissues take so much longer to improve. Today she had me doing some sets of BW squats. When I have done them for her previously, I had issues with trying to hinge from the knee instead of the hip, and once I got the hang of that, my weak knees tended to angle inwards, especially after a few reps when I got tired. But this time she was very happy with my form. So my half-hearted off-day practice here and there actually did help, and BW squat form is one of the things I have practiced the most. All in all I'm feeling better. I think my car is done smelling like raw gasoline. Looking forward to my next PT appointment on Thursday. I have the next two weeks scheduled for double sessions, hopefully by the end of this challenge I'll be doing that consistently and can move the goal posts to three times a week. I think the afternoon rains may have finally stopped, too. I'll feel a lot better about swimming again when I'm not paranoid about the possibility of electrocution.

The strawberry is finally starting to overpower the gasoline smell, yay. This failure was completely unrelated to the shifter cables, well other than just from the age of the car and the fact that it has to live outside in the Florida heat and never in a garage. Poor baby. It's going to start giving me major headaches because all the plastic parts have become brittle and rubber parts have dry rot. Probably about time to trade it in, but I have to wait until that gas smell is completely gone first.

I think you want to at least have seen the movie, or the character development of Dan Torrance won't make much sense. Reading The Shining would be better of course, but I don't think completely necessary so long as you know the back story. If you have never seen The Shining (the older Kubrick version, not the newer remake), it is a really great film with excellent casting and pacing. But wait until the sun goes down.

We don't seem to be having a book club for this challenge, so I thought I'd invite you all to read and discuss Dr. Sleep. I just reached part 2. I think that even if you have only seen the movie, you could pick it up with no issues. But if you've never read The Shining, it is even more haunting than the eerie Kubrick film and worth a read first. The new novel features grown-up Dan Torrance, who escaped from the Overlook hotel with his life, but far from unscathed This is the first King I have read in a long time. When I was a teenager I loved the Stephen King classics like Firestarter and Christine, and The Shining was definitely the best of the mix. I was less impressed with later works and eventually stopped reading King all together. But so far I am enjoying Dr. Sleep and curious to see where it is leading. The Kindle edition is on sale right now for $7.50. Good thing I preordered for $11. Grr.

I had a good day today with mindful eating. Still haven't made it to the gym yet, shooting for Thursday. Last weekend I had to put my car in the shop because the plastic housing of the fuel pump had cracked and apparently it was spraying gasoline on the underside of my car. Serious stench in the cabin. At first it was faint and I thought I was imagining it. I got one of those tree air fresheners in strawberry. Then I decided I was not imagining it and took it in to get fixed. Now it is fixed but it smells like strawberry gasoline. Yummo. Two weekends before that I had to get my shifter cables replaced. It's like a little self-destruct sequence triggered when the car passed the ten year old mark.

Thanks for asking! I made it to the gym one day last week. Did my home stretching/calisthenics type thing one day. Was about half and half with sticking with the mindful eating. That one is really difficult if you are not eating alone and everyone else is wolfing their food down and then staring at you as you chew. I'm trying to eat slow anyway and just give up when they are done. Easier said than done.

You may be right, I'll think about it.

If you follow the link to my second challenge in the sig, it has more detail about the goals and about what is going on with me in general. I cut and pasted the OP of this thread from my final summary in that thread, lol. But the original post had a lot more detail.

Hi rogaecia! Good luck in the new challenge!

Hi sicil! Love your goals. Looking forward to your updates.