Syren

Fun and practice. I used to find writing relaxing, but it has gone by the wayside lately when it became associated with some drama.

Be Healthy! The Supernatural Way Move More! Week 0 --> Walk 5000 steps each day Sunday 3682 Steps Monday 5474 Steps Tuesday 5018 Steps Wednesday 5520 Steps Thursday 2963 Steps Friday 6848 Steps Saturday 3976 Steps Week 1 Sunday 6334 Steps Monday 5960 Steps Tuesday 7000 Steps Wednesday 13,616 Steps Thursday 5128 Steps Friday 5102 Stpes Saturday Week 2 Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Week 3 Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Week 4 Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Eat Less Sugar! --> Replace with veggies, fruits, and/or the occasional whole grain and legume Week 0 --> keep at or below 25 g per day (can't remember what I was doing this week, but tracking was not involved) Week 1 Sunday tracking was not involved Monday tracking was not involved Tuesday ordered a pizza since water was out and I needed to clean dishes Wednesday avoided chick-a-fila craving and soda at work Thursday made spaghetti, at least I didn't order a pizza, and did the dishes for the pans I needed Friday tried new meal from Blue Apron --> these meal services are a bit pricey, but they do help me with incorporating new flavors and learning how to make a good sauce. I am finding that for me, a meal is all about the sauce, and evidently butter. Saturday panera for breakfast, been relatively good for sugar this week, not so good on not ordering pizza. Souffles are my addiction, and I have a recipe that is very close to Panera's, but I just wanted to get working on a job application and continue to ignore the dishes in my sink. Leftovers from last night are in my future. Tip request on how to love washing dishes would be great. I do not have a dishwasher. I wonder if I can incorporate not going out to eat savings as a means to procure a counter top sized dishwasher? Yes, this sound like a good idea. Week 2 Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Week 3 Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Week 4 Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Find a Hobby! Week 0 --> write 365 each day Sunday Monday Tuesday damn you VRV subscription! Wednesday omg gmail! how could you send an offer for an interview to the spam folder?!?! Thursday 12 hours to prepare for interview, know they are going to ask about grants and publications that I don't have, you betcha I was not prepared Friday I should clean my apartment as my significant otter is visiting... nah, I shall watch Supernatural Saturday and the anime binge just continues Week 1 Sunday I really wish weekends were longer than work weeks... Monday Must finish Hellsing Ultimate Tuesday as a working American, one does not realize how fortunate one is to have running water on a minutely basis until one does not have running water. Wednesday maybe I should find a grant to write so I can show the lab I keep applying to that I can get $$ Thursday what can I write a grant for? I have no lab space to do research! Friday what am I doing with my life? I can't even decide what I want to do to celebrate Halloween... Saturday shall I clean my apartment and binge on Stranger Things today or tomorrow Week 2 Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Week 3 Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Week 4 Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

Oregano is surprisingly hard to kill, like most cultivars of mint. Week 3 was not too bad. My plants are still alive, but I was feeling pretty run down, so went back to 1 round and making sure that I was making 5000 steps. I did succumb to a bake sale, but was pretty good for sugar intake most of the week. I got ran into by a bike on Saturday on my walk, so that was exciting. One of those moments when I wish I had better reaction time. I am mostly ok, just some bruises on my calves and arm where the biker and bike landed on me when I wasn't able to keep my balance.

Another week of successfully dodging donuts! Today was probably the worst day, i didn't have food for breakfast or lunch in the fridge so I stopped to get a breakfast sammich, could not pass up the maple cured bacon, and then fell for 2 cafe con leche (i will always fall for cafe con leche, especially when free), and had some cafetería tomato soup and veggie stuffed grilled cheese for lunch, no idea what they put in the soup. Did 2 rounds of workout every day this week! Subbed in some yoga a couple of days. My ankle was being fussy and jumps and other activeness seemed less than ideal. I have sprouts! Just thinned the thyme and oregano. Basil and chives have sprouted too. Still waiting for cilantro and a couple of others. Sadly, my computer hard drive has decided to die, so there may be fewer gifs until i find a replacement.

That's what I was thinking. Ideas of grandeur are fine, as long as there is a plan to get there.

Mmm, first encounter with Florida Avocados. They make excellent accouterments to toast, and they are gargantuan compared to the Hass variety. Don't get me wrong, Hass are more flavorful and have beautiful texture, but the FL ones are not too shabby.

Not too shabby, Elastigirl. I need to plant my seeds. Kept up with my morning workout all week. Didn't fill the tall order of my example above though. I'm thinking of adding on piece by piece. Starting Sunday, add in a second round of the same thing in the afternoon. Sugar reduction has been good. I had a couple of instances where I put some honey or chocolate syrup in my coffee and I got a green tea today with lunch. Good progress compared to my usual eat everything in sight.

Happy Official Day 2! I started a bit early, so I will report on what I have done so far. Pregame-- Tuesday, took a nice long walk down to the post office in Fairhope. It was a gorgeous southern fall day! This is my favorite season -- I do not want to go back to south FL... unfortunately on the way back to the House got the text that I need to be in West Palm for work the next day. Not gonna happen given the 10 hour when not in a hurricane wrecked landscape drive. Did terribly Wednesday driving back to West Palm from Mobile. Stress eating of snack food like cheez-its and mountain dew ensued by lack of electricity and Floridians (in general) not understanding the concept of merging. Thursday was better, but not great -- had to toss all of the food in the fridge minus some of the condiments on Wednesday evening. Non-perishables and succumbing to "the I want to feel better about the day by consuming corn syrup with caramel flavoring" urge. Life isn't that bad, I think I let all of the little things pile on and get into a funk. Need to figure out how to stop that. Grocery shopping was a good experience after work though. Some meal planning and a nap put me in the right frame of mind, though I still should not go to the grocery store hungry. Tortilla pizza with giant salad was way too tempting. Friday was a great day -- I ignored donuts! (hey, small victories). Also, Friday! Didn't work out either of these days. I was feeling very run down, and had to play catch up at work being out for five days. Normally I go for a couple of walks during my breaks, I just feel like I have to get on top of the things first. Day 1 -- Saturday I explored my reclusive side, did a very light mobility workout, but didn't do much else until late in the day when I took a short walk. I got caught up playing Kingdom Hearts 2, so it was definitely dusky when I went out. Not in the safest of neighborhoods to walk around in full dark, so short is better than nothing Today -- I ordered seeds for my herbs. The antisocial feelings are strong this weekend. More light mobility work this morning. Dinner leftovers for breakfast. Planning a walk for later

I have been pool swimming mostly, but as I live right next to a guarded beach, I think I should practice in the ocean. No stranger to the ocean since I snorkel and dive, but the swim style is a bit different. As for herbs, I am definitely doing basil, oregano, peppermint, parsley, scallions, and going to try to not kill cilantro. I may add some dill in there since Greek food has become my new favorite thing, and rosemary and thyme if I want some perrienials.

There & Back Again -- Part I -- The Long-Expected Party Hello Again Rangers! I thought I might join your guild once more as my challenge is slightly less scouty and more all-encompassing The beginning of the Fellowship of the Ring is all about preparations for the journey ahead. Lots of exposition, and a good deal of dithering to some degree. In a way I’ve been like Frodo: waiting for my things to change without a lot of effort. This challenge is the start of the long game, the last of the preparations if you will. Gandalf’s Marvelous Fireworks -- Syren Starts an Herb Garden (Constitution +1) Not as Fantastic as Fireworks, but still beautiful, useful, and relaxing Bilbo Bids a Very Fond Farewell to the Shire -- Syren Says Farewell To Laziness (Strength +1, Dexterity +1, Stamina +1) Exercise All Day: Mobility + Strength Training + Walking + Ocean Swimming + Yoga/Balance Something like this: Start Out with some mobility work 3 x Throughout The Workday: 15 minute walk 4 Rows, 4 Incline Push, 4 Asst. Squats 40 second Plank After work, check the surf forecast and go for an ocean swim Go for an evening walk when it is "nice" and cool(er) out Before bed, do some yoga Bilbo Gives Up The Ring of Power -- Syren Gives Up Sugar (Constitution +1) This one is the hardest for me --- I love food, and a lot of it has sugar in it I also work in an office, and it is hard to socialize when socializing revolves around sugary snacks There may be a lot of fruit for a while

Hi guys! *waves* Just saying hi, haven't done that in a while. Will try to be more on top of things around here

I found that a couple hours of Kingdom Hearts II and a late, but not too late lunch put me in the frame of mind for swimming on Tuesday. At least it was one day, and the week continues. Maybe we can go swim in the ocean rather than pool if the weather plays nice >.> <.< yes i like this idea. I guess living 10 or so miles from the beach isn't all bad.

My cats are great alarm clocks. If I am not up by 6:45 am, they have lots to say about it. No swimming yet, working on that this week --> evening swim is great, but hard to get motivated for. Pool is packed out before work, and the lifeguard is not always on time, therefore no pool opportunity Pool is closed for thunderstorms during lunch, because Florida Pool is closed for swim lessons after work Pool is open at 7:15 pm --> advice on evening workout motivation would be appreciated Eating is going pretty well, though it is harder to find the benchmark for this one than previous food challenges. Been pretty good at steering clear of sweet things. Luckily Bruster's Ice Cream does not exist here, and high quality sweets are hard to come by Veggies are definitely filling

Get up at the same time each day Swim at least 3 times each week Practice eating to fullness, not stuffedness Bonus: Post about the stuff

Absolutely, just keep keeping on

Hello, Ideally, you would not turn your head at all when taking a breath. Instead, you would use the rotation of your body to breathe, maintaining the streamline of your body for the most effective movement. This takes a lot of practice, and is something that you have to think about as you swim. A couple of good drills for this are: 1. catch up drill - - > focus on slow, full arm extension with each stroke, keep your ears in line with your shoulder as much as possible and let your hips drive you forward into a roll for a breath. Start out with a breath each time you take a stroke per arm. This can be made easier if you constantly exhale while your face is in the water and take it slow and easy. When this is super easy, start working on a three count. Try 6 x 25 yards or meters of these in your next workout. 2. Kick rotation drill - - > no arms for this one. You really need to get a feel for your kick tempo and feel that hip rotation drive you. For this drill, you only breath if you can rotate your whole body to do so. If you have tried catch-up, do 4 x 50 of these 3. Paddle on your head drill - - > you balance a hand paddle on your head while you swim. If the paddle falls off, you have lost your streamline stabilization. Once you can do a flip turn without losing the paddle, you should be great at your breathing pattern. You do not have to use a hand paddle. Any flat, smooth object about the size of your palm or a bit larger will work. Once you have tried the other two strokes start with 4 x 25 of this one.

Week 4 July 31 - August 6

Week 3 July 24 - 30 Yay! I got a cold again. -.- Must figure out how to stop this. Might need to look into a flu shot :,(

Week 2 July 17 - 23 Monday -- Strength training! Tuesday -- More Strength training! Wednesday -- I'm a punk, didn't do strength training because my AC was out this morning, and instead of going to the gym, I cleaned my apartment a bit to make myself look less like a scum bag for the maintenance guys....

Week 1 July 10 - 16 The week I went of vacation and did nothing but spend time with family... and ate way too much, but a lot of it was vegetables because I have pretty awesome family.

Week 0 July 3 - 9 The week of, was I supposed to do something other than Spanish practice?

Week -1 June 26 - July 2 Monday -- It was never good anyway; 1 gallon is a lot of water; Nailed the Spanish though Tuesday -- Looked better, but not quite; don't feel like drinking a lot of water when stuck in office -- download reminder app!; continue to own the Spanish practice Wednesday -- Snorkel Training; pretty sure I hit the water goal cause it's hot outside; Mas espanol! Thursday -- Seagrass survey in black, Tarpon infested waters; did not come close to the water goal; but did practice the Spanish Friday -- I'm in love, but not enough to workout; coding is too much fun, forgot to drink water while in the office; remembered Spanish at home Saturday -- why does my body hate me? stomach issues off and on all day so no working out; got really close to the water goal; did a lot of Spanish practice Sunday -- finally worked out!; working on the water, Spanish practice done! Sunday 5 minutes walk easy 5 minutes walk 10 seconds sprint 50 seconds easy 20 Burpees 3 x 1 minutes of Pushups 3 x 1 minutes of Squats 3 x 1 minutes of Hangs 3 x 1 minutes of Planks 30 minutes walk

>.> <.< Drink 1 gallon water Strength Train or Swim Practice Spanish

I have purchased a digital and waterproof lap counter from swimoutlet.com It had a ring design and was pretty easy to use. I had it for about 5 years, before the band succumbed to dry rot and the battery died. Unfortunately, the band on the one I had was not replaceable, which made it a bit useless. The other method I have requires stopping to move the plastic rings on the lane line, similar to your penny method. Or have another person count for you. I do sometimes make my workout so that every 100 yards I swim a different stroke which helps me to keep track on really long sets. Or if I don't have a counter, I just add a 50 yards when I lose count.

I am feeling better. But I keep forgetting to do the rolls, or the walks. It's terribly frustrating. I get really side tracked when we have field days, which was almost every day this week. This is totally awesome, but not good for my anxiety, diet, or physical fitness. Since the schedule changes up, my anxiety about being late amps up. I really need to think of a strategy to help me cope with it. I need to find a good therapist in the area, I just haven't prioritized it because finding a good therapist is hard! Among all of the other things i feel i need to do. Blah. Today was a bad day, but tomorrow will be better