KitsuNeko

... and of course there was none of the viper herb in the actual picture But sure, it was good!

It's been good so far, this week. Car had to be taken to a repair guy, again, but coming back from there was a good morning walk wor me and the dog. Some weight training as well, keeping up with my 2/3 rule. Squats 5 x 5 with more weight than before. Only one day of work so far, pretty laid back, had all the breaks. I've been thinking about my garden as well, what to plant there. New find was "blackroot", or black salsify or Spanish salsify, also known as black oyster plant, serpent root, viper's herb, viper's grass or simply scorzonera. Sticky thing, when cut raw. But I didn't, boiled it with the peels on and removed them only after. So weird and good, like potato meets asparagus. Gonna have to make high-rise places for such long roots.

Summary of Success, End of Week 1 Exercice, check. Swimming yesterday (well in a spa, with a kid, but still). Squats today, AND a good walk with the Dog. Nice and sunny. Found some definite proof of the spring, and not so much mud today anymore. Spring yay! Managed to make soy strips CRUNCHY, finally! Cooking +1 Also tasty salad with avocado and grapefruit. Will make this again. Got some novels from a friend, so lovely reading time ahead!

So how did you end up doing this, then?

Day 6. No work. Did deadlifts, way more reps than before with this weight. Walking some, no podcasts. Roasted root vegetables and veggie balls and trying this time with za'atar, which really seems to work as promised. Cravings, did not follow. Also did some sewing: glass jar lunch carrier bag.

Success report, or so to speak: Weight training on 3/5 days so far, deadlifts and squats mostly, 45-60 minutes at a time. I had some annoying stretch or sth around my right biceps tendon, but I guess it's fine now, so today could do some lifts... So far, one longer (an hour or more) walk, just before dark around the riverside. Unsure of how she always manages to find some burdock things so I had to trim some of her leg hairs, again. Breaks, yes. Snacks, decent almost every time. Now a few off-days and time to do some quality cooking. Do women's magazines count? At work, on a break. Really multitasking here. Gotta get me some quality fiction today.

I think that's quite understandable. Especially with some favourites and extraordinaries like yours, not being able to use or enjoy fully the nice things you have is a pain. Godspeed with all this, you'll do good!

I noticed that some of my more tightly fitting shirts or dresses were not so comfortable any more, not around the chest area or the arm. ... might have freaked out slightly, but I was convinced then that it was actually the muscle and not me failing terribly that made the difference.

This is terrible. And makes so much sense...

Hi and welcome! Sounds like you have a great start with all the things you've overcome so far - based on my very short and limited experience of here I'd say you'll find it good! Did you take/make up a challenge yet?

All work no play. 15 hour stretch, but at least I had some breaks. And some fruits. Yay me.

Lately, mostly non-fiction. There's so many things going on, most of the time, that I just have to get into. Like, how does the world look/smell/be like from the point of a dog, or what principal ideas are behind left- or right-wing discourses, or which plants to choose for my soon-to-be garden next summer that will defeat the omnipresent lupins. Also partly for studies, but I should add some other stuff in the mix now. Next time at the library, gotta get me some Margaret Atwood. Today, reading challenge not going so well. If I squeeze in a few pages it will diminish the lovely sleep I'll be getting and I might regret it in the morning. A few? Ha. Sleeping, now.

Yes, done it!

This is so good! I love how the kitchen is in the morning when there's no leftover stuff from previous cookings and what not. It's just that with us, there's three supposedly sensible adults sharing the space, so this is something I wish would apply to all of us equally. We had such a lovely routine with the dishwasher a while back, always filling it and turning on in the evening, emptying in the morning while waiting for the coffee to be done - and then... I don't know, it was a slippery slope, but I want to go back to that

Ok now, finally here with the official publishing. I blame work for not having this done by Sunday, but I started my challenge then nevertheless. Keep it going 2/3. Out of any 3 consequtive days, 2 must include training. Keep walking. Preferably with the dog, she likes it. Have some podcasts on the go. Keep your breaks. Make sure to have good and sensible snacks at work and have the breaks every day, even if things are spiralling out of control (they always are). Keep your books close. Read something every day. I found making strict training schedules tricky when your days and weeks are not alike. So the plan is this: I try to plan ahead, obviously, but this system will allow me some mercy if work is killing or something else is against my plans. Training will translate as weight training (big goals at the moment focusing on deadlift for more weights, technique for the rest) and other sweaty action in the garage. Walking for an hour or longer counts as well, as do other random acts of action. And as she likes it, we'll walk some every day. (There's other people walking her as well, so not to worry there, animal friends! It's not all on me.) And then the eating part: always have fruits, carrots, non-yogurts, berries etc with you. The Good and the Sensible. Eat them as well, so that you won't go raving hungry by the time you get home and walk by the burger place (... actually, their soy wrap is the thing I fall for). And it is so much better for the training as well. And by reading, I didn't mean the Internet.