[darkfoxx]

 

[snoopy dance]

 

2021 is in its home stretch - another year almost done and dusted. And wow, does it seem like time means nothing. Last year, totally understandable - that feeling has 💯 carried over to this year, and I even left the apartment! 

 

It’s finally Winter where I live (I could have used a sweatshirt the evening I was out after dark!) and local events are ramping up. 

 

We’ve got the Arab Cup (a trial run for next year’s FIFA extravaganza) shutting down whole chunks of the heart of the city for almost a month, a food festival & nightly laser light show in that same area, a balloon festival at the beginning of December, outdoor dining popping open all over the place with holiday season specials to boot, some weirdo music fest with Gulf people I’ve never heard of, hopefully some Christmas or Farmers market type happenings, a fashion retrospective, and then National Day mid next month to cap this part of Outdoor Season festivities off. 

 

 

My plan is to drag DH to one thing each week - a festival, a shopping destination, food, or a park - something that’s not our Sunday Mall Walk or Saturday & Friday delivery routine. Meanwhile, he’s trying to remember he agreed to be forced out of the house. For the most part. He’s put a moritorium on the Dhow Festival. 

 

Our friends are also ready to go out and have fun - so we’ll be planning more excursions with them. 

 

That takes care of the ‘other’ section - appreciating where we live, experiencing new things and connecting with friends.

 

I’ve also got my creative list:

 

Design, print & send holiday cards 

Finish this first run of bags 

Build a website for that project + an Etsy page

 

Nutrition Front

 

I’m still toying with a run of Paleo In The New Year - something has to change, and my fucks are not getting themselves in a row. Rules work for my brain; which I totally know but was trying a lassiez Faire approach - which got me a size and a half out of my entire closet of clothes; even my replacement items.

 

Until then, I need to keep my goals in sight and remember that I do not have to be a member of the clean plate club. It’s not an actual thing; the food’s been cooked - it’s already wasted. It’s not going to mythical African children.

 

I also need to set myself up for success by creating meal plans so I can hit this weights’ macros. I’m facing (again) struggling with protein - as it stands I’ll need 120g/day … aaaaaaand I’ve got a months-long meat-at-home aversion to deal with.  Meal plan it is! 

 

Movement Front

 (awwww … poor Kino)

 

In our holiday shopping jaunt this weekend, we picked up an 8kg kettelbell. I need to make myself some attractive easy workout placards and start incorporating those into my life. 

 

It’s also cool enough to up my walking on yoga days.

 

And I need to get back to my solid 4x a week yoga class schedule - fingers crossed that whoever they get to replace my Tuesday Functional instructor has something good in a convenient time. That, or I may be able to switch to Saturday am when DH has his guitar thing - that’s before we would go out and do anything anyways. 

 

…

 

And that’s it. Super simple as per the usual these past couple years, and hopefully the base building blocks for an even more successful 2022. 

 

[darkfoxx]

Progress so far … 

 

I’ve pulled some recipes to start making meal plans.

 

I finished designing this year’s card - I think - and now just have to make it to the print shop. I had intended on sending them out last week, then next week - but DH will be out of town for most of it. Hopefully they’ll get to the States before the new year. 

 

Found a :15 kettlebell workout video I can hopefully work out along to. 

 

Yoga was gotten to 3x last week - I dealt with allergy drama and my busted up knee and decided to rest up some. 

 

Holiday decorations are up. 

 

 

[sarakingdom]

44 minutes ago, darkfoxx said:

Until then, I need to keep my goals in sight and remember that I do not have to be a member of the clean plate club. It’s not an actual thing; the food’s been cooked - it’s already wasted. It’s not going to mythical African children.

 

Any meals you have leftovers from is a meal you don't have to cook later, which saves energy and reduces your carbon footprint.

[Tanktimus the Encourager]

On 12/4/2021 at 12:59 PM, darkfoxx said:

In our holiday shopping jaunt this weekend, we picked up an 8kg kettelbell. I need to make myself some attractive easy workout placards and start incorporating those into my life. 

[darkfoxx]

9 hours ago, Tanktimus the Encourager said:

Thanks, that’s exactly what I needed to see! 

[darkfoxx]

On 12/4/2021 at 10:44 PM, sarakingdom said:

 

Any meals you have leftovers from is a meal you don't have to cook later, which saves energy and reduces your carbon footprint.

#truth

[darkfoxx]

Weekend Update 

 

Saturday was fine - what did we do? Umm … I don’t remember. I do remember ordering popcorn from the theater because we ran out at the house and it’s a ridiculous thing that’s available where I live. Also had the awesome burgers from the brisket place that have ruined me for all other burgers in the country. 

 

Sunday I dragged DH kicking and screaming (Deep Pouting at least) to the food festival and light show - it would have been better more crowded, but it wasn’t bad. The layout was pretty good and I finally got to try this Indonesian restaurant I’ve been wanting to visit for years now. 

 

Food was fairly shit, but we are hammering out the details of our New Year and coming to terms with what that’s going to mean for our little schedules. 

[Scaly Freak]

11 hours ago, darkfoxx said:

Food was fairly shit,

 

...at a food festival? That is counter-intuitive.

[DarK_RaideR]

I find the lack of doggo pics... disturbing.

[Terra]

And food pics...  Those are missing too.  

[darkfoxx]

On 12/6/2021 at 11:20 PM, Scaly Freak said:

 

...at a food festival? That is counter-intuitive.

That food was delicious, but not exactly - or in any way - healthy. The satay had chicken, at least … 

 

On 12/7/2021 at 11:38 AM, DarK_RaideR said:

I find the lack of doggo pics... disturbing.

Poor vous: the assholes in their new harnesses. 

 

On 12/7/2021 at 7:21 PM, Terra said:

And food pics...  Those are missing too.  

That they are. I got behind and then I didn’t want the accountability to myself since that accountability has amounted to jack and shit. 

 

I’m working on a whole new protocol for the new year (back to protein-first meal organization, menu creation at least for the first month to make sure I hit this new weight’s protein number (which sounds so much more daunting than 70g was - even though that was scary in the beginning), and pics to log. I’m also planning some robust blog posts on what I’m doing in lieu of having the added stress of coming up with recipes each week for the next bit as I figure out if a: I can navigate my current cooked meat in the house aversion so I can actually hit my goal, and b: how to then hit that goal without having to rely on ‘high protein recipes’ - leaving room for simple batch cooking. We shall see what this turns into. 

[darkfoxx]

Wednesday - Friday, I think:

 

Yoga Wednesday was good as far as I remember.

 

Thursday I made out the holiday cards, DH came home and I snacked too much. 

 

Friday yoga was decent - it was a teacher I hadn’t had before but it went well. I felt more relaxed than taxed. Indian food was too plentiful, but damn was it good. Finally watched the first Spider-Man in this series. 

 

 

[darkfoxx]

I’ve also gathered 4 pages or so of recipes for my protein-first protocol. I’ve got to re-calculate my macros fully, but the prelim I did had my protein at 120g. If I break that down into 30g spread across 3 meals with an optional added protein smoothie for a snack if drinking said smoothie won’t feel like stuffing myself, that will suffice. 

 

I’m thinking aside from the recipes I’ve pulled, a simple guideline of: 30g protein + big hand spinach or other something green + big hand other colored veg and a fatty element sounds like a good way to conceptualize a meal. 

 

Brain is stoked for egg whites + 1 egg halfass omelette with big hand spinach, dollop harissa (or muhamarra), big hand cherry tomato halves, half a small avocado + Tony’s seasoning for breakfast (I’ll probably need to add some sort of chickeny sausage to hit the protein metric so I may need to drop the Avo) & a bun less 8oz burger with sautéed peppers & onions + baked sweet potato fries for dinner. Not sure on the lunch for that kind of day. 

 

 

[darkfoxx]

Weekend Update

 

Saturday … umm … oh yeah, holiday kitchen tornadoing - not actually baking this year, just lots and lots of rescuing seized chocolate. I made a take on moose munch & chocolate chip cookie bark and parceled almost all of the bark out + about 3/4 of the mix. Also made some slackass Chex mix for DH because he came home ravenous after a late guitar practice. 

 

Dinner was had out on the marina - a not terribly good but satisfying steak while enjoying the chill and breeze. 

 

Watched the first 2 of this go round’s Spider-Man movies this weekend. 

 

Sunday was back to our normal mall walk - lunch was an unsatisfying bowl of pasta at Macaroni Grill. Why are all but 3 pastas cheese-laden? Why? This is not necessary. 

 

Have eaten way too much snackage this weekend, but I recalculated my New Year macros (should have just used the NF calculator to begin with) and got much more sane numbers. 

 

80g of protein and 1200-something calories I can do. That means a return to mostly paleo for me + when-in-doubt meat snacks. That I can totally fathom. 

 

Was so happy about it I came up with a whole week of recipe-light meals to celebrate. I still need to calc the macros on those, but they feel right. 

 

And I’m getting excited about putting this all up on the blog - I’m going for unrecipes and component parts this go round rather than ingredient-heavy recipes. I think simpler foods will be more beneficial to the reader. 

[Terra]

Love that photo of the pups!!!  I miss your food photos because you get to eat such different things than I do...  I understand that they were not helping, so it's all good.  I like you plan for food and the blog.  Can wait to see it.  🤓

 

[darkfoxx]

16 hours ago, Terra said:

Love that photo of the pups!!!  I miss your food photos because you get to eat such different things than I do...  I understand that they were not helping, so it's all good.  I like you plan for food and the blog.  Can wait to see it.  🤓

 

I figured you would be excited to see the refocus - and there will definitely be pics. Some crazybananas food to be sure - but I’m craving a return to simple. 
 

This was a pic from the dog walker with the caption at least they look angelic … 😂

[Terra]

5 hours ago, darkfoxx said:

at least they look angelic … 😂

I like your dog walker!  

[darkfoxx]

On 12/14/2021 at 6:25 PM, Terra said:

I like your dog walker!  

She’s hilarious and a damn blessing - I’m so greatful she’s willing to take Mr. Anxiety out - despite his histrionics and frequent snack-stealing. 

[darkfoxx]

W - F

 

Yoga Wed was good. 
 

Took myself out for breakfast Thursday and had a fantastic Polynesian birthday dinner with DH.

 

Todays class was great and I even put 80% of my weight on my still messed up knee.

 

 

[darkfoxx]

Sat - Mon 

 

Saturday we kinda did the Dhow Boat Festival & National Day at Katara - halfassedly - but it wasn’t the worst time ever (for me at least, DH had a stomach ache about halfway through and we ended up leaving early enough to catch the metro feeder bus back rather than making the long ass walk). 

 

Sunday was our normal mall walk day. DH talked me into making a damn decision re: a new pan and I jumped on Santa Jammies (which I’m 99% sure I’m not actually waiting for Christamas eve to wear). 

 

Today, yoga class was good and I had coffee & banana cake with a yoga friend. 

 

I’ve also plotted a couple breakfasts with around 20g protein each, which will help. If I then do 30g lunches & dinners I’m set. 

 

 

[darkfoxx]

Tues - So Far Wednesday (am)

 

Tuesday was good. Logged 3+ miles bopping around the mall trying to decide whether or not I wanted to return to Christmas stockings. 
 

I decided to go for it in lieu of Santa Jammies. Broke into the Jammies I bought myself and am liking them, though it’s a bit too warm for the hoodie - that’s more of a Summer weight layer; Winter is the blessed time of year we turn the A/C off. 
 

Hubby and I now have T-Rex stockings and the pups will share a dog stocking. I’m super pleasantly surprised at the amount of Christmas stuff still around this year - usually it’s only at like 3 stores (Daiso, the dollar store & a few Carrefour grocery stores for cheap; Pottery Barn for expensive - plus a huge store somewhere in The Wild I’ve heard tales about) but we’ve now got many more options - stocking options were slim (Asian cheapie stores, for almost disposable, Hallmark for tacky & Pottery Barn for bougie - at least at the mall I was at), but there are still other things around, and Sephora even has at least a sixth of the holiday sets out. 
 

I hit Virgin for little toys and games (got DH one of those knockoff video things that plays like 800 games) & some baby yoda dominoes) and will hit the grocery for more candy & snacks. So far, I’ve got single serve moon cheese, burnt caramel chocolate & Frosted Flakes bars. I may try and find some of those Freddy Frogs my Aussie friends bang on about. 
 

Yoga yesterday was good but hard - hip flexors with the new (not really new -one of my favorite instructors who I’ve missed dearly) functional class. All that after mall walking, present wrapping & zooming back over to class. 
 

Lunch was some stellar Persian - pomegranate sauced meatballs, a silky eggplant dip & naan with dill - and I just snacked (finished off the chocolate party mix) for dinner. 
 

Hubby also surprised called for his vaccine booster yesterday and got through painlessly - I called and was only on hold for 10 minutes; got our boosters this morning at 8. 
 

Im currently at breakfast re-acquainting myself with the chicken breast/egg/potato extravaganza breakfast at one of my former go-to breakfast haunts. It’s doable sans the potato & toast - I remember why this was one of like 3 keto standbys.

 

I think I’m bailing on yoga this morning. My arm is fine so far (stung getting the actual shot), but I’m exhausted and I need to grab the dress I got hemmed before going home to cuddle & nap with the pups. That, and I absolutely hate swanning in and then turning around and locking them back up in the bedroom 15 minutes later. 
 

If I’m not dead on my feet, I’ve got a hang out and catch up day tomorrow with a friend, yoga Friday & Christmas with the same friends Saturday. Sunday, it’s lunch out in my dramatic dress I didn’t get to wear on my birthday and a trip to find a new sneaker shop that’s supposedly decorated to look like sand dunes made out of light. Hopefully it looks as amazing as it sounds - and we can actually find it. There’s no actual address listed; just a suggestion of area. This could be interesting … at least we’ll be fortified with dumplings. 

[darkfoxx]

Thursday - Firday

 

Thursday I bailed on plans to go out with a friend - popped fevers all night, slept like shit, and had GI drama in the morning. So, I bailed and she came by in the evening. We ended hanging out with DH and her hubby when he finished with his planned drinks outing. 

 

It was a great night and I got toddler snuggles. 

 

Today, we went to see Spider Man and have watched Christmas movies all day. 

 

 

[darkfoxx]

Saturday - Half Of Monday

 

Christmas was good - our pup stockings (new treats wadded up in tissue paper, each pup taking a turn to stick their heads - or whole bodies - in the stocking to pull a treat) was a hit. Trundled off to friends house for a huge lunch, a nice ‘burb walk, a grand time had by the pups exploring somewhere new, and more presents. 

 

Sunday we did a nice fancy Chinese lunch - suuuuper bummed that the zipper in my new dramatic dress is crap and got stuck (and I’m a bit too chubby to fit easily enough to not force it), so I wore the one dress from the group I bought that does fit - again. 

 

Walked around a bit in the cool new LEED city downtown area. 

 

Watched the new Matrix and fired up the Air Fryer DH got me for our first oven fries in like 10 years. They’re still not as good as DH’s fries, but they were crispy and tasty. 

 

Today, it was back to yoga. I felt hella stiff - my lower back was killing me yesterday - but class went well. We did chest and back openers (camel pose) and I did what I could. 

 

I’ve also got a couple weeks down of protein-focused meal planning down; I may scrap some of that in favor of Air Fryer meals, or I may at least amend some of it to loop in my new toy. 

 

New challenge coming by the 1st. 

[Heidi]

4 hours ago, darkfoxx said:

Today, it was back to yoga. I felt hella stiff -

I hear you sister!

Racquetball with Vivian in Friday showed me how deeply I have neglected the mobility muscles. 

 

Glad you had a great holiday! 

Sending good vibes.

❤️

[darkfoxx]

Tuesday - Wednesday

 

Took myself out for a surprisingly good char … lunch, yoga was great but stiff.

 

Today’s yoga was also great - but I’m still hella stiff and feel weak. 

 

Was super excited to get some tenderloin on sale - found out today that it was because these are kinda crappy cows. Not sure how that happens, but the steaks were only edible. I’ve got 2 more dinners’ worth + 1 lunch. I don’t think I’ll be so precious with the steak part of the meat going forward.