Koaladle

I'm in Jacksonville, but I'm also not a Florida native. I grew up in California, lived outside of Chicago and in Virginia, and finally settled here. Winter-wise, I think I liked Virginia best because we got a little snow but for the most part could function normally. I get bored of near-constant sunshine and usually want a little variety around Christmas, but now I'm worried about our baby fruit trees (a papaya and a fig). We'll cover them and pray, but I think we're going to lose them. Thank you! When I have no option of ease and comfort I get to work REAL quick. It seemed like a good opportunity to Do the Thing while also making sure I didn't spend too much. I'm normally a saver but I'm no match for a year end clearance at craft or book stores.

You will be VERY amused to hear that the friend I met for breakfast was worried I'd be too cold in 53/44F (11.6/6.6C) weather walking a couple miles.

There are definitely those days where I can't seem to get rolling until 4, but MAN is it satisfying when you break through the bullshit. Excellent work!

I can visit it, but on days like today I'm really grateful that the sidewalks aren't a slipping hazard. More on that in a second. See, now THAT I can handle. Most of my transport involves self-propulsion so hazard-free surface are important to me. Yay, thank you! My irl support system is small (and fierce, bless them <3) so the cheering from the forums means a lot. DAY NEGATIVE TWO PUPDATE So the last couple days have been a little rough and tumble; while I haven't done all of my routine, I have managed to keep doing the steps and hitting my calorie goals. And today? Today I was a gosh darn folk singer/songwriter. (when you're not wild like a rock star) (but did kick some rumpus) Hokay, so I met a friend for breakfast at a location just two miles away from the area where I needed to run errands so I could get my steps done and avoid the nightmare that is post-Christmas mall parking. During the day, I ended up walking over six miles, during half of which I was carrying a substantial amount of weight--workout clothes for my next weight-loss reward (I needed shirts and heeyyyyy clearance sale!), books (I went to Barnes and Noble to return a $20 item, ended up buying 16.9 pounds of books), and craft things I needed for binding my journal... and also three candles on clearance that smell AMAZING... and a bike rack holdy thing so I can ride my bike to band... AHEM ANYWAY! All together, it was just over 30 pounds of crap, making it a truly fantabulous farmer carry between my furthest stop and where my Lyft picked me up. TWENTY ONE CONSECUTIVE DAYS OF FOOD TRACKING AND SMASHING THE STEP GOAL! STILL BELOW 250 EVEN WHEN PERIOD BLOATED AND FULL OF HOAGIE MANAGED TO GO SHOPPING IN CROWDED AREA ALONE DOG CUDDLES PREVENTING ABILITY TO TYPE IT HAS BEEN AN EXCELLENT DAY.

I love this! That photo is GORGEOUS.

I did this last year! I was literally jogging slower than some of the people walking. XD

Me when confronted with the cold

All I can picture is someone spoon feeding a breaded and fried boob. Thank you for sharing Violet with us! This has always been a safe place for me to talk about struggles in my life and I have a feeling you're going to find that same feeling of community. <3 Definitely following because this thread is hoppin!

Oh, the power of words to convey meaning. XD

I've only had one snowy winter and maybe a week of snow experience beyond that, so I'm not particularly attached to slippery ice death from the sky. Personally, I got for more of the Scuttle aesthetic:

I really hope you enjoy it! It's not at all my cup of tea, but I have plenty of friends who love it there. <3

This is exactly it! I've made a whole ambiance around step doing in the evenings and I'm pretty convinced that it's helping me get to sleep easier. I turn on my Hogwarts lamp, make my kindle read a Harry Potter book to me, and tackle the goal in ten minute spurts. As long as I start by 10PM, I can get it done by midnight (bedtime) with little to no worry. That level of cold is fun to visit but hell to live in. I prefer sidewalks that don't resemble a slip and slide. -.-

HIgh 40s, low fifties-ish

I live in Florida so it's nice to pretend we get winter down here every once in a while, plus it's such a welcome break from the humidity and the heat!

DAY NEGATIVE FOUR PUPDATE: Today, I am Charlie. It is absolutely disgusting out, it's cold, and I didn't sleep well last night at all. On my list of things to do on Thursdays, I have: track food, self care, do chores, creative outlet, and eat with family. I need to wash some dishes and run a load of laundry, and while I'm waiting on the clothes I can knit and watch a movie with Dog. He is the cuddliest bub I have ever met and has been pining for attention all morning. I also need to step the steps and get set up for a gym visit tomorrow. Thankfully I got lights for my bike as a Christmas gift so I'll be visible even if the weather is dark, grey, and miserable (ugh, I love it so much; incessant sunshine can get tiring).

Looking forward to it!

Congratulations on your house!! <3

Best wedding present we got was his book.

Yessssss

RAGE AGAINST DEPRESSION It's so ridiculously hard to manage depression, but it sounds like you're all set up to take excellent care of yourself. <3

I don't know if you have a fitness tracker now, but you can knock out about 1200 steps every ten minutes if you keep a pace of 2 steps per second. I set a timer for a hours every night and knock out ten minute chunks at a time. My husband and I joke that we bought out house for the dog. "We bought you a yard" was a constant joke for over a year. XD Congratulations!!

I'll be lurking.

Yay for the South! I got stationed here five years ago and Florida has really grown on me. :-) Good luck with the cleaning and packing!