[Alanna]

3 hours ago, Harriet said:

Somehow I keep forgetting that plants actually do sex.

 

3 hours ago, Harriet said:

Are you looking at type 2? Can't hurt to get your A1C measured by your GP if you haven't recently.

 

 

3 hours ago, Rookie said:

Yah I am. Oh cool I didn't know that is something you could do. Once I know if I have Covid or not I will try to schedule and appointment. 

 

 

There are also checks for fasting blood sugar, which should be below a certain level, as well as for how your blood sugar responds to a certain amount of sugar. If you're really concerned or have trouble finding a doctor to test you, you can also probably buy a finger prick blood sugar monitor. 

 

Regardless of the cause, I hope you figure out a way to alleviate your symptoms soon! 

[Rookie]

3 hours ago, Alanna said:

Regardless of the cause, I hope you figure out a way to alleviate your symptoms soon! 

Honestly I am not too worried. Nothing diet and exercise can't fix I figure. I wasn't even going to go to the doctor originally because I figured he would spend 5 mins with me and just say to follow the food guidelines and exercise.

[Salinger]

Hope you feel ok Rookie, a little scary recently for you xx

[Rookie]

3 hours ago, Salinger said:

Hope you feel ok Rookie, a little scary recently for you xx

Aw thanks I am feeling a bit more alert today haha I am just going with the flow everything is temporary lol for some reason this stuff stresses me out way less than money stuff. 

I am doing some recipe research today that incorporates more veggies. 

 

---

 

7 confirmed cases of covid at work.

 

My rapid test says negative but I did nostril and not throat. 

[Tateman]

Yikes!  (Not about the more veggies, but the covid cases haha)

 

I actually have thought about looking up some recipes for similar. I just never really looked too hard. 

[Rookie]

19 hours ago, Tateman said:

Yikes!  (Not about the more veggies, but the covid cases haha)

 

I actually have thought about looking up some recipes for similar. I just never really looked too hard. 

So far so good. I may have dodged the covid bullet lol but who knows 

 

I like veggies but I don't like cooking them for some reason. I am not very good at it. I have been looking up some korean recipes that seem decent. And you really can't go wrong with just sautéing some greens 

[Alanna]

On 7/8/2022 at 5:53 PM, Rookie said:

I like veggies but I don't like cooking them for some reason. I am not very good at it. I have been looking up some korean recipes that seem decent. And you really can't go wrong with just sautéing some greens 

 

I am also a bit lazy when it comes to veg - I eat a lot of salads and also try to cook my veg with my meat (e.g., in a soup) so it's already incorporated in the meal. Fermenting is also an option, but takes some equipment and patience! 

 

How has your weekend been?  

[Harriet]

On 7/8/2022 at 6:53 PM, Rookie said:

So far so good. I may have dodged the covid bullet lol but who knows 

 

I hope so. It's better not to have.

 

On 7/8/2022 at 6:53 PM, Rookie said:

I like veggies but I don't like cooking them for some reason. I am not very good at it. I have been looking up some korean recipes that seem decent. And you really can't go wrong with just sautéing some greens 

Things are usually better when other people cook them. And a lot of recipes are terrible because they lie about how long it really takes to cook vegetables.

[Rookie]

13 hours ago, Alanna said:

I am also a bit lazy when it comes to veg - I eat a lot of salads and also try to cook my veg with my meat (e.g., in a soup) so it's already incorporated in the meal. Fermenting is also an option, but takes some equipment and patience! 

I enjoy salads once in awhile but for the most part I avoid them like the plague… I’d much rather have sautéed veggies lol or raw veggie sticks. But sometimes just getting them in-front of me is a struggle.
 

13 hours ago, Alanna said:

How has your weekend been?  

It’s all kind of blurring together lol especially since last week was weird since I was avoiding going out. I went to barn yesterday to play with the girls. It was really nice and quite until one girl showed up with a small crowd lol lots of Minecraft which I’m kind of starting to be over lol but it’s been nice spending time with Mr.R. I hope yours was decent!
 

13 hours ago, Harriet said:

I hope so. It's better not to have.

We are going with I didn’t get it. But either way work said to work from home this week for everyone. 

 

13 hours ago, Harriet said:

Things are usually better when other people cook them. And a lot of recipes are terrible because they lie about how long it really takes to cook vegetables.

I agree to both lol especially when you are BBQing it. Most veggies I’m okay having slightly less cooked (I forgot the fancy word… el dante?) 

[Salinger]

Hope everything is ok Rookie, how you been feeling? xx

[Rookie]

7 hours ago, Salinger said:

Hope everything is ok Rookie, how you been feeling? xx

Feeling decent! Would be better if I got some better sleep but that is my fault lol. I told Mr.R after riding + groceries I am probably going straight to bed haha.

 

------

 

Woo going camping this weekend! I have Thursday + Friday off so even if my brother can't get off work for Friday I am going to try and go up for Thursday check in with my mom. Which means I need to do some groceries tonight and make a list of things to bring. 

 

[Rookie]

So I seem to have trouble with following challenges when things get a bit busy or crazy haha That is nothing new.  I do feel I should do better because if I don't then this just feels like a social journal. lol

 

I am having a bad allergy day today which of course makes me go "omg did I get covid?" nope just allergies. 😅 I need to get some allergy meds that don't make me feel loopy.

 

I have been randomly picking 1-3 weeds when I don't have my hands full but its not enough. The back half of my garden is being over run by crawling vine weeds. Stupid crawly vine weeds.  But I probably won't be able to get to it so I might ask roomy to work on it again while I am gone. 

 

Yesterday I wrote a camping pack list and did the majority of the groceries. 👍 I rode Daisy who had a cough  I guess her allergies are also bad right now. It was very dry, dust and super windy so I am thinking that contributed. I also played with Sizzle a bit since the little potato needs all the exercise she can get. 

 

Today I am waiting for a tech to come and replace our gas meter.... gotta love the "they will show up between 8 and 12" time ranges. So I have no clue when they will be here. I also want to make some baba ghanoush tonight so hopefully the weather cooperates so I can bbq the egg plants. Aside from that I just plan on hanging out with Mr.R all night because he's feeling a little neglected since I am leaving for basically 4 days haha 

 

Either tonight or Wednesday I will pack my bag and shave ye ole pits and legs in preparation for a weekend on the beach. Wednesday I will pop to the barn for a quick ride then pick up the last few grocery things.

 

Thursday I will pack the car and then go to the barn in the morning with my sister and mom. After that we will probably grab some lunch then my mom and I will head up to the campground probably. We can check in at 2pm but its a 2.5hr drive 🥲 I need to remember to pack butter and salt this time 😅 

 

I feel I am going to forget important things 🤣

[Harriet]

On 7/12/2022 at 3:52 PM, Rookie said:

So I seem to have trouble with following challenges when things get a bit busy or crazy haha That is nothing new.  I do feel I should do better because if I don't then this just feels like a social journal. lol

 

I sometimes feel like my challenges are just a whiny journal for my failures. But occasionally something doesn't fail so there's that.

[Alanna]

Hope the busy week went well and that you enjoy your long weekend of camping! 

[Whisper]

Hi Rookie!

 

Once again, I've given up on the idea of catching up on posts, and instead am catching up on pictures.

 

The horse painting is amazing. I have no idea how you make the hair look so natural. I'm always stunned by your art.

 

I love the green dress! and the napkin to fix the neckline looks like it was meant to be.

[Rookie]

On 7/16/2022 at 5:28 AM, Harriet said:

 

I sometimes feel like my challenges are just a whiny journal for my failures. But occasionally something doesn't fail so there's that.

Very true lol Its nice to not feel alone even when I am 'failing' and that I am still part of a community.

 

On 7/16/2022 at 6:15 AM, Alanna said:

Hope the busy week went well and that you enjoy your long weekend of camping! 

Yes I survived!  And I had fun. Though niece was having all the tantrums and my nephew was feverish most of the weekend which put a bit of a damper on it but we got through. 

 

On 7/17/2022 at 6:43 AM, Whisper said:

Hi Rookie!

 

Once again, I've given up on the idea of catching up on posts, and instead am catching up on pictures.

 

The horse painting is amazing. I have no idea how you make the hair look so natural. I'm always stunned by your art.

 

I love the green dress! and the napkin to fix the neckline looks like it was meant to be.

I am glad you enjoy the pictures! I find catching up with pictures is a lot easier than posts sometimes. Especially when low spoons. 

 

Magic lol and knowing when to stop / not over blend. I used to overblend everything but I find when you don't then it kind of tricks the persons eye into thinking its more realistic than it is. If that makes sense. I usually do medium base, then add in some shadows then add in some highlights. 

 

Yay! You just reminded me that I need to sew it in place. Hopefully I am not too underdressed for the wedding but I don't think I will be.

[Rookie]

This weekend was crazy! But I survived. Thursday I went to the barn in the morning and had a nice ride on Daisy. My mom and I didn't end up leaving to go camping until around 2pm which is when I wanted to show up at the campsite. We almost weren't allowed in right away because I wasn't the person who made the reservation.... even though I asked them a day in advanced if I could check us in lol. Anyways we figured it out and got to go in. My brother and SIL showed up with their kids around 6-7. We got all set up and had a campfire. My niece is almost 6 and has the biggest attitude (as I am sure most almost 6 year olds do?). She is at the "I hate you" and "You are the worst mommy/people ever" stage  because she didn't want sun screen on/ her hair brushed / to do the thing asked of her. And of course everyone is trying to bargain and bribe her. Which to me is just cringe but I don't have kids lol. There were lots of meltdowns between her and my nephew. He didn't feel well most of the time which made him act out more and randomly he would start hitting/biting. He more or less had a fever the whole time unless they could get some meds in him... which Saturday night he decided he no longer takes medicine lol... So there was a lot of waiting around until the kids stopped having melt downs. We ended up doing 1 hike which was fun, it was 1.9km with lots of hills. But I was worried about my mom the whole time because she can't really do stairs or inclines well and has been falling lately. I feel I was the only one who acknowledged she couldn't walk as well as us or do all the things we could do. Which was annoying and I was seriously worried she would fall while going up a hill and hurt herself or end up with a heart attack. And I got to worry about that while going to and from the beach as well because it was a tricky walk. So I feel bad saying this but I think I would of rathered go alone with my dog.

 

Today I was supposed to finally go take Daisy to go jump in a grass field (cross country jumping) but I ended up asking to reschedule because today was supposed to be 90% rain until 2pm then thunderstorms. I probably could of just risked it because the rain wasn't too bad earlier and it actually looks sunny outside right now (albeit also very dark cloudy skies). Buuut you never know haha. I ended up cancelling my vacation day and coming into the office... which is good because my boss (who is the only other person who can cover me) is busy with sudden personal things this week. 

 

I am just trying to get my feet back on the ground for normal life. I am going to the barn tonight and will probably pick up a few things on the way home from the grocery store. Barn night on Wednesday. Friday we have our friends birthday party so I need to pick up a gift. I am not sure if we are going to the cottage or not after. If we aren't going to the cottage then I will go to the barn on the weekend and if not then maybe Thursday. 

 

[Salinger]

Sounds like it was a nice time, sorry you were worrying about your mum though. 

 

So busy Rookie, hope you are taking a little time to relax and be kind to yourself ❤️ xx

[Rookie]

1 hour ago, Salinger said:

Sounds like it was a nice time, sorry you were worrying about your mum though. 

 

So busy Rookie, hope you are taking a little time to relax and be kind to yourself ❤️ xx

Yes I am don't worry

 

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https://www.budgetbytes.com/savory-oatmeal/ this looks delish. Savoury oatmeal is an interesting concept to me. 

 

https://www.budgetbytes.com/savory-cabbage-pancakes-okonomiyaki/ and I want to make these. I love them and haven't in awhile.

 

https://www.budgetbytes.com/curry-beef-with-peas/ This would be good with cauliflower too

I've been thinking about how I want my diet to look and wondering if I can I accomplish my goals while still having things like rice, pasta, and wraps in my diet. Not in the quantity I have now.. but say I have a curry... can I have 1/2cup to 1 cup of rice and bulk it up with veggies. I did that before and I found it enjoyable and doable. I would like to cut back on processed sugars. I would love to not track calories and just be able to eat intuitively. Intermittent fasting makes sense to me and I think it has good benefits. 

 

 

[Rookie]

Todays to dos are...

- tie up tomato plant branches

- prune tomato branches (we are getting a bit unruly )

- Add stakes to my raspberry plant

- clip doggos claws

- finish washing the camp bedding

- get friends birthday gift with a budget of $50

 

To do before July 30

- sew hankie in the boob window of the dress

- get wedding gift

- paint wedding card (I was thinking of a tree with a heart carved in with their initials?)

[Rookie]

It is HOT outside lol damn. Feels like 40C/104F. I will be hiding in my basement most of the day so I can wear my jeans and hoodie and be cozy.

 

 

I popped out on my lunch to get the present for my friend. I hope she likes it. I always worry because I don't really know what she likes... I inherited her and another work wife from Mr.Rs coworker group. I know she likes Davids Tea, Bath and Body Works and shopping in general. I also know she has too much of that stuff because she has a bit of a shopping addiction 😅 I got her some stuff from a small "mom and pop" knock-off Lush store. A vanilla dream hand moisturizer that I have and LOVE the smell of (somehow it smells like orange creamsicle). A different mini vanilla hand cream cause shes always asking for lotion when we are at our other friends house. A bath bomb that smells flowery. And a cute picture album that is pink with lemons... I am hoping she can use for her mini polaroid pictures she likes to take. For myself....... I splurged and got myself a 2022/2023 agenda because I have been wanting one since March and everyone I found was $15+ and only good until end of 2022 but this one was 10$ and starts Aug 2022 and goes until Dec 2023. I was happy about that. I got Mr.R "viking" coffee haha. 

 

I also got myself a donair and it was a delicious mess

 

[Rookie]

I pruned my tomato plants... maybe a bit zealously but they look better lol lets hope they survive haha. I tied them up and gave them water + fertilizer. I ate my first raspberry off my raspberry shrub 😮 I didnt think I would get any this year but apparently its not a new plant! Annnnnnnd I got to meet fresh puppies 😮 born super late last night. 

 

Spoiler

 

Before (right planter)

 

After both planters lol 

 

Unfortunately it broke off but I saw it and got to eat the berry

 

[Rookie]

I have an idea of what I want to try out for next challenge Now I just need to wait patiently for the new challenge to start.

 

I was watching an interesting video on metabolism today where it said the best way to lose fat and keep it off is to eat at a small deficit. The max deficit being 10% of your TDEE. That is definitely different than what I have learnt and tried in the past. But I bet it might help with my pattern where I eat at my 500cal deficit for a few months then need a week to just eat whatever. Its been awhile since I have tracked calories successfully lately so I feel silly saying that. I haven't decided yet if I will be tracking calories next challenge but if I do I will aim for 10% which would roughly have me at a deficit of 270cal. 

 

 

Glad you asked 😚

 

- Hill walking 3-4 times a week?*

- Honour my hunger cues

- Every meal needs a veggie

- Only allowed 1 "white starch" serving per meal (ie, 1 medium potato, 2 toast, 1 cup pasta, 1 cup rice)

- Journal at least 5 days a week (energy, food, exercise)

 

*inspired by the 12-3-30 trend....30 minutes, at speed 3 and incline 12 on a treadmill. I am broke and don't have a treadmill so I am going to walk up and down the hill by my house which I have done before

* to make it easier ... I might drive to the parking lot near the hill or park on a side street because the hill is a 10-12 minute walk away from my house and that is enough to deter me sometimes haha

* Week 0-1

 

I am thinking the most challenging item in this will be the hill walking because I am 120% lazy. Second will be the veggie with every meal. 

 

and I am thinking of it being a Might Guy / Rock Lee theme because of all my self rules haha. 

[Salinger]

Great goals here Rookie!!! xx

[Whisper]

17 hours ago, Rookie said:

I have an idea of what I want to try out for next challenge Now I just need to wait patiently for the new challenge to start.

Having similar thoughts right now.