Muir Does Stuff

[Muir]

Last month I did a workout challenge where I did one fitness thing per day. Even though I was ill for most of the month, I still managed to do it all. Yay!

 

 

This month though, I'm going to take it fairly easy. Right now we don't have much room due to the kitchen being remodelled, which means there's pretty much no space for me to do any workouts. I can't even roll out my yoga mat completely, it's that bad.

 

Goal 1: Try to keep with my version of the NFA eating plan.

 

 

• Drink only water or herbal tea from noon to 6pm every day.
• Eat zero foods with added sugar (exceptions: pudding after supper and Mondays)
• Eat two meals per day (700-800 calories per meal), each meal containing at least 2 fruits/veggies and a protein.
• No snacking between meals and no eating after 10pm.
• Consume no more than 4 servings of carbs per day.
• Carbs will consist of whole grain products, brown rice, and sweet potatoes whenever possible.

 

Goal 2: Continue to crochet.

 

I really want to get this blanket finished, so I will continue to crochet 3 granny squares per week until it's done.

 

Goal 3: Work on my new programming course.

 

 

Last month I won a first tier scholarship for a nano degree course taster on Udacity. This scholarship gives me access to the first three lessons in their Android Development for Beginners course with instructor and mentor support and access to private forums and slack channel. At the end of the course (April) the top 10% of students on this course will get offered the next tier of the scholarship which is for the full nanodegree course.

 

Needless to say I really want to be part of that 10%, so this goal is all about putting in the work. For this goal, I will do at least 2 hours per day (10 hours a week) of studying. Studying includes doing the course lessons and projects as well as participating in the forums and the Slack channel.

 

Goal 4: Stay active.

 

The beginning of the month always flavours what the rest of my month is going to be like. If I don't start the month being active, then I'm not going to be active for the rest of the month. This is bad and leads down a slippery slope of laziness. So for this month, the goal is to just do something active every day. This can be walking, stretching, going to a fitness class, whatever, as long as it gets me away from my desk for at least 15 minutes each day.

[deftona]

Love it  Following along!

[Muir]

4 minutes ago, deftona said:

Love it  Following along!

 

 

(there are going to be lots of gifs this month, in case you hadn't noticed lol!)

[jonfirestar]

following along. How far are you with the blanket now?

[Muir]

32 minutes ago, jonfirestar said:

following along. How far are you with the blanket now?

 

 

So far I'm 3 rows into it. Each row contains 8 squares and there are going to be 10 rows total. Each square takes me 2-3 hours to crochet (I'm not very fast). In total, this blanket is going to take me around 240 hours of work.

[NeuroPunkNonsense]

Following along! Good luck with your course and scholarship! (Being in the 90th percentile is such an awesome feeling btw).

[Tanktimus the Encourager]

Following.

[imprimis5]

I'm here for solidarity and mutual nosiness.

[Muir]

43 minutes ago, Atrytone said:

Following along! Good luck with your course and scholarship! (Being in the 90th percentile is such an awesome feeling btw).

 

Thank you! I really hope I make it. It will be a nice replacement to the diploma that I didn't get at the end of my last programming course.

 

43 minutes ago, Tanktimus the Encourager said:

Following.

 

Yay! Glad to have you, Tank!

 

27 minutes ago, imprimis5 said:

I'm here for solidarity and mutual nosiness.

 

Being nosy is fun.

 

 

[Marauder]

Love!  Crochet, Friends, and Harry Potter.  Sign me up!

 

Any blanket photos?  I can knit all the things, but crochet eludes me.  

 

Also, congrats on the scholarship!  That's awesome!

 

 

[shaar]

That is awesome news about the course scholarship!  Good luck with acing it - you got this!!

[Rhovaniel]

Love the simplicity of your challenge. Following...

[Mr_Willes]

Checking in here, your stuff is always very interesting

[Muir]

4 hours ago, Marauder said:

Love!  Crochet, Friends, and Harry Potter.  Sign me up!

 

Any blanket photos?  I can knit all the things, but crochet eludes me.  

 

Also, congrats on the scholarship!  That's awesome!

 

 

I can't knit at all. The needles confuse the heck out me.

Thanks! So far the course is pretty easy and fun. I'm about a third of the way through it.

 

4 hours ago, shaar said:

That is awesome news about the course scholarship!  Good luck with acing it - you got this!!

 

Thank you, shaar! Law of averages say that if I complete the course, do my best, and participate enough to be seen by the instructors that I should hopefully get the tier 2 scholarship. There are 10000 people who got the tier one. Only 1250 can go forward. But statistically less than 25% of people who enrol in online courses finish them, so just by that alone, I do have a pretty good chance!

 

4 hours ago, Rhovaniel said:

Love the simplicity of your challenge. Following...

 

Simple is best for me. I love following along with all the more complex challenges, but I get discouraged when I do them because I always fail to keep track of them properly.

 

2 hours ago, mr_willes said:

Checking in here, your stuff is always very interesting

 

Where would you rate it, on a scale of

      to        ?

[Muir]

Week 0, Tuesday

Goal 1:

 

Food went relatively well today. Brunch was a whole grain wrap with roast beef, sweet corn, and cheese, and a banana (on the side, not in the wrap). Supper was a ham sandwich on whole grain seeded bread with cheese and baked beans on the side. My allowed sweet treat was two sultana scones with honey jam. I had two mugs of black tea with milk this morning and 3 or 4 mugs of herbal tea this afternoon.

 

I did have a mug of coffee with milk before 6pm though. I've gotten into the habit of grabbing one from the shop at the bottom of the hill when I go for a walk to help warm me up on my walk back up the hill. Should probably kick that habit and get a bottle of water instead.

 

I didn't snack at all today though, which is really good.

 

Grade: B (stupid coffee)

 

Goal 2:

 

I've done about half of a square so far today. I'll try to finish it before I go to bed. I will also try to take a good photo of the blanket as it currently is and upload it to FB tomorrow.

 

Grade: C (can do better)

 

Goal 3:

 

I worked on my programming course for a total of two hours today, including forum posting and Slack participation. Honestly, most of it was forums and Slack, but I did get 3 sub lessons done, which isn't bad, and I did help several people in the forums, which is very good.

 

Grade: A (for being helpful)

 

Goal 4:

 

I went for a walk down the hill that I live at the top of and back up it this afternoon. This evening I attended a one hour circuit training course. Goal achieved and then some.

 

Grade: A

[Agnarr]

Following!

[Muir]

9 hours ago, Agnarr said:

Following!

 Thank you!

[Muir]

Today is not going to be a good day in regards to course work, but I'm gonna try anyway. Paul has a career's appointment today at 2pm, which means I'm going to be out all day. His school is far enough away that it can take me 1-2 hours to get there by bus, which means I have to leave home by 11am and won't get back home until after 4pm. He had a career's appointment last month, but because I couldn't make it (was ill), they cancelled it and didn't bother telling me until the next day.

 

All my other goals should be fine though for today, especially the be active goal as tonight is Muay Thai night.

 

The kitchen is nearly done. The workman is finishing up all the little details and will be hooking up the plumbing and dishwasher today. The oven and hob won't be hooked up until tomorrow though, but what's one more day right? Since T and P are both still ill, I'll probably spend a lot of Friday and the weekend moving kitchen things from the conservatory and living room into the kitchen where they belong. Then I'll be able to do yoga and NFA workouts again!

[iatetheyeti]

Following along  

 

On 2/7/2017 at 10:21 AM, Muir said:

The beginning of the month always flavours what the rest of my month is going to be like. If I don't start the month being active, then I'm not going to be active for the rest of the month. This is bad and leads down a slippery slope of laziness.

 

Yep, same here. Kinda why I'm going all out right out the gate. Here's hoping there's no slippery slope of laziness for either one of us!

[NeverThatBored]

Following! I really admire the amount of effort and time you're putting into your online course. 

[Muir]

8 hours ago, iatetheyeti said:

Here's hoping there's no slippery slope of laziness for either one of us!

 

 

2 hours ago, NeverThatBored said:

Following! I really admire the amount of effort and time you're putting into your online course. 

 

Thank you! I was so bummed out about not getting the master's level diploma for my other course that I nearly gave up on the whole thing, but this course has provided motivation, which is good.

[Muir]

Week 0, Wednesday

 

Paul's career meeting went well. Paul told the teacher in charge that he wants to stay at the school until he's 19 (students here in the UK are allowed to leave school at 16 or stay until they turn 19), at which point he then wants to go to college. Because Paul is disabled (he's severely autistic and has a communication level of a 4 year old) he won't be able to attend "proper" college and university courses, so instead he'll be taking Life Skills (where they will teach him how to be as independent as possible) and Work Skills (vocation training) courses. He'll attend college until he's 22, at which point he'll be able to get a job (he says he wants to work in a prison) and live in supported housing (which is something else that he wants).

 

Now that we've got it all written down, the school is going to take this and start helping him develop skills and knowledge that will help him obtain these goals. When he's 16, we'll apply for a college (the waiting lists for these courses can be quite long) and before he turns 19, we'll get the ball rolling to find him a suitable place of his own to live (again, the waiting lists can be quite long).

 

Goal 1:

 

I didn't eat much today, even less than I normally eat, so I'm quite hungry right now, but it's after 9pm so I'll hold off and just eat a small breakfast followed by a small lunch tomorrow instead of my regular larger lunch.

 

Lunch today was a pulled pork sandwich on sourdough with cabbage and onions, and a cup of lemon and ginger tea. Supper was 2 sausages with a very small amount of steamed mixed veggies, and some chips. I had two mugs of black tea with milk this morning and another one when I got home after Paul's meeting because I forgot to ask for herbal tea when T offered to make me a cuppa to warm up. For pudding I had a very small piece of chocolate chip cake. Because my stomach was growling, I went ahead and fixed myself some plain popcorn at 20:30.

 

Grade: B (I could have chosen to have something that didn't contain white flour, but I really wanted the pulled pork so I made a decision to eat it anyway)

 

Goal 2:

 

Here is a photo of the blanket as it currently looks. I've done part of another square this evening and will get it done by the end of the night. Hopefully.

 

Grade: B (I got yesterday's square done, but I know I can get a square done before supper. I've just been leaving it until late so far this week)

 

Goal 3:

 

I got less than an hour of coursework done today because of Paul's meeting. I did get a bit of actual programming done though, so that's good.

 

Grade: B (I'm not going to be too hard on myself over today because the meeting was important)

 

Goal 4:

 

I did 40 minutes of walking today, which meets my goal. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to attend my Muay Thai class because my ride is feeling ill (there's lots of gross viruses going around right now). We're hoping she feels better tomorrow, but if not, we'll go back to the circuit training class on Tuesday.

 

Grade: A

 

 

[Marauder]

Love the yellow white combo on the blanket!  Nice!

 

 

[Muir]

15 hours ago, Marauder said:

Love the yellow white combo on the blanket!  Nice!

 

Thanks! Paul chose the colours. It's going to be his blanket, when it's done.

 

Today has been a "fun" day so far. The electricians came and hooked up everything in the kitchen, which is good. But while they were here, I couldn't use my PC, which means I couldn't do any course work. I did get some reading done and finished up yesterdays crochet though, so I was at least halfway productive while they were here.

 

Also, the washing machine broke, so I spent a good hour shopping online for a new one, once I was able to get back on my PC. New machine has been bought and should be here sometime tomorrow, which is good.

[Muir]

Week 0, Thursday

 

Today was both productive and not productive.

 

I didn't have the use of my PC for half the day, but we now have a fully working kitchen. The washing machine broke, so no laundry got cleaned, but one has been ordered and it's better than the old one and will be delivered tomorrow.

 

Goal 1:

 

Even though I went to bed hungry, I still ended up not eating until after noon today, thanks in part to the three cups of milky tea that I drank this morning. I had a salami, sweet corn, and cheese sandwich on whole grain seeded bread and a banana for lunch. Between noon and 6pm, I had 4 or 5 mugs of herbal tea (blueberry and elder flower). Supper was roast chicken with mixed steamed veggies and stuffing, which I ate because it wasn't chips. My pudding tonight was a choc ice.

 

Grade: A

 

Goal 2:

 

Not only did I finish the square that I failed to finish last night, but I did another full square as well! If I keep this up, I'll be able to sew on another one or two rows by Week 1!

 

Grade: A

 

Goal 3:

 

Even though I've only done 3 sub lessons in Lesson 2b of my Java course for the last few days, I'm still on target for finishing the lesson by tomorrow. But only if I buckle down and do 5 full sub lessons tomorrow, which I will do even if I have to study in the evening. Then on Monday, I can move on to the practice project.

 

Grade: B (If I had done a full 5 or more sub lessons each day like I'm supposed to, then I would already be on the practice project)

 

Goal 4:

I have done zero exercising today, other than going up and down the stairs a few times, which doesn't count. It's been really cold all day so I was lazy and stayed in my chair, wrapped up in a blanket, drinking tea herbal tea all day. Tomorrow I will do something, even if it's just pedalling on the floor bike for 20 minutes. 

 

Grade: F (can do better, must do better, will do better)