Procrastina-a-a-a-ation

I really really really need to get some work done and do my laundry and vacuum. So I will post here instead!

• Sometimes I feel like if Alwyn Cosgrove ever met me in person he would hold my head down in a big bowl of frosted flakes til I drowned in sugary goodness. Andrew Heffernan has a cheery funny blog that makes me feel better. It's insightful and educational and motivational and hilarious. What else could you want (ok, maybe some zombies)?
• So here are some zombies
  

• I really hated "The Valet". It really looked like it was going to be funny. Granted, I thought they would wring out the old 'ubermodel moves into squalid bachelor pad, hilarity ensues', but instead Alice Taglioni floats through the movie like an angel... an angel with a big bucket of spackle to smooth over any bumps that might sprout into amusing situations. Then the ending looks like it's gearing up for something madcap and instead, a speech and splat! A figurative pie-in-the-face. Fini! so sad!
• I also hated "Superbad", it was like "Clerks" annoying little brother... and this is from someone who genuinely enjoyed "Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back" and nearly threw up laughing during "Talladega Nights". I liked the cops, they were funny (he's...the..fastest...kid..in..the...world)
• Of course I liked "28 Weeks Later". I was trying to figure out how a 20-second virus would work. It would take longer than that to reach and short out the amygdala so I thought that maybe it would work on the adrenals. But in that case some people would just go about wringing their hands saying, "I'm so stressed!" or "Gosh, the coffee sure is strong this morning!" instead of rampaging around eating human flesh.
  

Year in Review

Looking back....

• highest weight: 139, lowest weight 125.4
• became healthy enough to get back in the gym
• took up taekwondo
• took up skate-skiing
• freed self from Diet Pepsi addiction
• visited Paris
• single for the longest time ever and really enjoying it
• four stitches and a calf tear

What I learned:

• 90% is diet, the other half is exercise
• 90% means 90-100%, not 85% or 60%
• Work on task oriented goals until they become habits
• if I’m tired or feel cravings I should try to understand what the signals are telling me (without giving in to the cravings)
• When I start thinking I’m strong and conditioned I should take up a new sport or activity
• I don’t like ultimate goals. I don’t understand what the basis for this antipathy is, maybe I feel thwarted if steps aren’t accomplished according to schedule, maybe it’s childish rebellion, maybe I don’t like the word “goal”. Whatever! It’s not like I’m a slacker, I’m working toward my Ph.D and my black belt and I am clear on what I need to accomplish to get there, but I don’t really like to see them as “Goals” with sparkly stars around them. To me they are inevitable if I keep chipping away by being consistent and diligent. So that’s how I’m going to approach fitness and target body composition, my “success” is inevitable with consistency and diligence.
• I do have dreams (maybe that’s how I’m viewing “goals”). Wouldn’t it be cool to do conservation work at Monterey Bay or San Diego? I’d love to do the program to be an internationally certified TKD instructor. It would feel great to be rock-hard, wiry ball of vibrant health when I hit 40 (gack!)

So 2008 is upon us already so this is going to be the year of Optimum Health – Mental and Physical. Optimum diet fuels intense activity which will result in enhanced mental health and awesome body composition.

Stuff I need to work on:

• Don’t look at crappy food as special treats.
• Be honest. I have been looking the other way as I dump chemical creamer into my decaf. If I have to stop drinking coffee, then so be it. No cheating, it’s only hurting me if I ingest poisonous crud and pretend it’s ok to make an exception. A good cup of coffee with half and half will go nicely with a 10% meal.
• Honor thy workout schedule without killing thyself. Get up when the alarm goes off and get into the gym. If after the warmup I still want to curl up under the bench and cry, it’s ok to walk, watch ESPN highlights from the rowing machine, or kick the heavy bag, just do something for an hour.

2008 is going to be the year when I get it done, I've been chipping away for just about a year now and I'm healthy and armed with PN and I'm going to make it happen and enjoy the journey.

Here's wishing you and your loved ones all the joy, laughter, love and health you can stand in the New Year!!

and here's a lovely pic of where I've been skiing

What are you eating?

So I was thinking about two things: the BBC show “You Are What You Eat” and the book The 120 Year Diet.

The 120 Year Diet is the basis of the Calorie Restriction thing and most people have probably written it off because all anyone every pays attention to is the part about restricting your intake by 60% or whatever. The other equally important aspect of the program is nutrients. You want a huge nutrient to calorie ratio. Also, any food has nutrient deficiencies. The more you eat that food, the more the deficiencies are magnified, so it is important to VARY your food sources. The most useful parts of the book are the tables where high-density sources of all kinds of nutrients are listed. Did you know white mushrooms have huge amounts of certain amino acids? Here I thought mushrooms were the marshmallows of the vegetable world.

The recipes are not the “Salad: combine 14g lettuce and ½ a diced radish. Enjoy!” which you might expect. You actually have to eat a monstrous amount of food to get your calories in. They use a lot of ingredients, are vegetarian and low on protein, but if you throw a bison burger on top, you have a super healthy PN meal idea.

YAWYE is where a bony nutrition harridan puts obese Britons on a terrible 8 wk detox diet and they end up losing a lot of weight, become visibly healthier, and gain an appreciation for nutritious food and activity. Anyway – one method YAWYE uses to shock the chubby is to pile a table full of everything they ate over the course of the week. The culprits are horrified over how much food they crammed into their bodies in just 7 days.

I thought it would be fun to start my own virtual table and make a list and then add it all up at the end. A few cookies and sweeties per day look innocuous, but at the end of the week it’s a whole carton. It’s also a new way to record my food which makes me really conscious again of what I’m eating. The goal is also to be increase the variety of foods I eat because it’s too easy to get on autopilot and live on the same few easy recipes over and over.

Some Sunday wisdom

Was reading Ryan Andrews' blog and came across a most effective health and fat-loss tip: DON'T EAT CRAP.

It's stupid that I forget obvious things like this. I blame this time of year when all sorts of seasonal goodies appear, but then all sorts of non-seasonal mundane goodies also appear and end up going down the hatch as well. Indeed, I can totally see the damage and a shadow of my former backroll is visible. BUT - mistakes usually have some sort of useful message hidden in them. In this case, it's the idea that seasonal sweets are tempting because they only appear around the holidays. Coincidentally, the holidays arrive just about the time I've gotten into the groove of eating 6-7 times per day and gotten a bit lazy and autopilot about eating, meaning I've been looking at the same protein and veggies in the same boring combinations for weeks now. Of course all the crazy stuff on the potluck table is going to be irresistible, my tastebuds crave excitement. This all emphasizes the importance of variation in one's diet. I'm trying an experiment! More on that later.

One good thing about all the cheating is that I think I raised my calorie intake enough that my appetite has come back. Welcome back, old friend. Don't eat crap and I'll try to keep things interesting.

There was a weird incident yesterday too. I avoid buying and bringing stuff home that will tempt me, but when my brain is whining I just say, "Fine, go ahead and get changed and warm up the car and drive out to the store and buy it and bring it home and cook it." and I never take myself up on the offer.... except yesterday. I went all the way out and got french bread pizza and a diet pepsi. It tasted pretty good, but it just made me wonder what the heck is up. I haven't been good about taking my supps so I refilled my pill sorter and will make a concerted effort this week to tighten things up.

In other news - I went skiing again. I went all the way down to the lake, around the lake, and back to the ski hut. The lake was good because it was FLAT and gave me a chance to practice. I actually got warmed up enough that I was able to ski for much of the long slog back up to the start. There were other people out, but they never caught up to me so they must be pretty bad skiers too.

Otter Soup

Nay, not soup made from otters! “Otter” as in, “I otter eat more kale” or “I otter used up that zucchini before it goes bad”.

I had been whining earlier about not wanting to eat salads when it’s cold, about eating protein bars regularly, and not having any ideas for snacks. Then the doctor suggested that I get more zinc and vitamin A. So I thought I would put all that in the food processor and dump it in a pot, literally!

Soup can be a great snack, it’s warm and filling and is also forgiving and flexible. There are all sorts of things you can hide in there to get your nutrition. So here was the train of thought -

• Pumpkin: vitamin A, high fiber, good either savory or sweet
• Kale: vitamin A and fiber. I have been a bit off of it since I got a stomach ache from eating it dehydrated when I had the flu.
• Ground turkey: blech! Dark meat turkey has zinc AND vitamin A, in soup it’s just chewy bits
• Zucchini: How old is this one?!? Oh well, it is green and firm and likely edible.
• Celery: under duress I eat celery and actually enjoy it, then I buy a few hearts and they fester in the fridge until I throw them out. Celery has all sorts of health benefits and is totally inoffensive in soup
• Carrots: there were broken and odd sized pieces left from the last bag
• Onion: all sorts of health benefits and a good base for soup
• Red wine: there was a bottle of cooking wine in the fridge with about 1/4c left
• Turkey bacon: it was getting freezer burned because I hate the smell when it fries. Pumpkin loves bacon.
  

So them’s the guidelines for Otter Soup:

• nutrient dense things
• things you don't care for, but ought to eat more of
• lurking leftovers that need to be consumed
• yummy things

You could probably add a “vibe” like 5-spice powder, taco seasoning, Italian herbs, curry powder, etc. If you throw a bunch of stuff you hate into a pot, you will get toxic sludge.

This batch came out AWESOME. I thought the pumpkin might be weird, but you can't really taste it, it just adds some color and a creamy texture to the soup. I didn't even need to add spices. And now I have my tasty PN compliant snack!

Sorry Honey it's Thursday

Wednesday 12/19/07
11:30 – 5AM wake
7:00 paprika chicken, tea
9:00 ½ protein bar, orange
11:30 chicken club sandwich
3:00 apple, ostrim
6:00 buffalo patty in veg sauce, 2 cookies

Thursday 12/20/07
4:30 wake
5:30 Lift, practice patterns
7:00 oatmeal, pb, met drive, orange
10:00 orange, boiled egg, biscotti, choco chip cookie, coffee
12:30 bison, veg sauce
3:00 meatloaf ranch burger, cabbage
5:30-7:30 TKD class and breaking class
8:00 bison, veg sauce over shredded red cabbage, candy

Really physically tired today so I struggled thru the lifts and then rounded out my hour practicing patterns for the upcoming belt test. You’re supposed to focus on form, of course, but also on power so patterns are surprisingly strenuous. Then this evening I went to class for an hour following by board-breaking class. I didn’t break for the last test because of the calf tear so tonight I had to break for the upcoming test and for the previous test and managed to do them both on the first try! Go, me.

For some reason everybody gets all worried about form. To some extent, proper form gives you maximum power, but breaking is generally ugly and functional. Plus, we weenies tend -- if anything -- to break too hard and there’s no graceful recovery when you have to yank your foot out of the board-holder or your instructor’s solar plexus.

I keep getting into the candy and cookies and holiday treats left out. There's a little table by the lab door where you can leave your coffee or water and people have been baking like fiends and leaving cookies galore. Cookies are merely cookies, hardly flabworthy. I need to focus on eating clean so I can just enjoy the parties coming up...

Bad music and good communication

4:30 wake
5:30 Lift, Whey + Waxy maize
7:00 paprika chicken, tea
9:00 ½ protein bar, orange
11:30 paprika chicken, carrots
2:30 ostrim, apple
5:30 ½ chicken panini
6:30 TKD 1h
8:00 fudge

Y’know what’s sort of odd about iTunes? They take great pains to put EXPLICIT in red next to any song that has even remotely questionable lyrics, they carefully “*” out letters in the titles, but then you get your receipt and, whoops! All the letters are back! lol

I just noticed this because I bought a load of songs by the Queers who have fun poppy melodies with “whoah-oh’s” and handclapping laced with f-bombs galore. Sort of like the Dead Milkmen but (more) puerile and profane. Years ago I saw them at the Middle East in Cambridge because the New Bomb Turks were opening for them (along with some other bands). Everybody started and closed their sets with “This Place Sucks” and a fine time was had by all.

I was doing pretty well today until I was rooting in the freezer for some meat to defrost and I came across the other half of a chicken panini I had eaten over the weekend. I argued with myself and finally defrosted it and grilled it in the Foreman. Then when I got back from TKD I got into a batch of fudge I had made over the weekend for an upcoming party. Usually when I see stuff like that I don’t really get the urge to eat it. So rather than berate myself I pondered what was going on. Duh, PMS again. I’m going to add in some starch for my post-WO meal for a few days and see if things get back on track. It’s just my body’s way of saying, “FEED ME I NEED MORE ENERGY, DOOFUS.” I’m trying to listen more. In the past I would steamroller through temptations and feelings of exhaustion and it got me headed in totally the opposite direction. I have to realize that laziness, white starchy things and sugar aren’t normally appealing to me (pasta-abuse issues aside) so when candy looks tasty or I sleep through an alarm it’s the body’s desperate attempt to tell me I need to pay attention.

Monday

4:30 wake
5:30 Lift, HIIT, Whey + Waxy maize
7:00 egg beaters, omega egg, salsa, tea
10:00 ½ protein bar, orange
12:30 paprika chicken
3:00 ostrim, apple
6:00 scallops & broccoli in peanut sauce, sm piece fudge

Not sure what’s going on, I look puffy and my weight is all the way back up to 128, but my skinfold is down 1mm. Probably stupid PMS again. My energy is all weird which disturbs my sleep and the weird dreams don’t really help. There was something about a meteor and a DIY show with people in superhero costumes or something. It’s a little exhausting to wake up with your brain raging on by itself full of nonsense.

125.8 and TLJ

Late: wake
Bfast: teriyaki chicken, garlic mashed cauliflower (that’s the last of it)
Lunch: meatloaf ranch burger, sautéed zucchini
3:00 peanuts
4:15 ½ prot bar, sm orange, cacao nibs
6:00 salmon, rice, broccoli

I thought I had rebounded a few pounds, but I was only 125.8 yesterday (up .4lb from my lowest) so I guess I haven’t undone all the progress I made while I had stomach flu (kidding!). I think all the salt and dairy in the Caesar salads was making me retain water because I was down 3lb from the day before.

Finally saw both “No Country for Old Men” and “The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada” (also “Darjeeling Limited”. Not all at the same time) both featuring the awesome Tommy Lee Jones and the starkly beautiful tough-love of the Texas desert. I guess in “Estrada” TLJ journeys unflappably through the landscape, driven by a promise, dragging along the reluctant Mike Norton until he finally surrenders to his unexpected fate. And “No Country”… you just have to go see it to appreciate the absolute perfection of it all. Don’t watch the trailer or you’ll just be like, “What’s with that dude’s hair?”. It’s hard to explain the total perfection of this movie….There are no Coen-esque triple-crosses, no taglines that stick with you like, “What’s the rumpus” or “Pancake house”. Irony, clever symbolism, poetic justice and quirk in other movies become as glaring as billboards (Hi. I am the director, please notice I am brilliant) when they stand beside “No Country”. Sure, there’s flawlessly cast characters, microscopic detail and interesting camerawork, blah blah, but they don’t call attention to themselves, they just all wind around and carry you as the film flows inexorably to its conclusion. Go see, NOW, Go go!

This is not me

5:30 wake
6:30 HIIT, walk, stretch
7:15 teriyaki chicken over garlic mashed cauliflower (I’m addicted, I want this for every meal), orange
9:00 ½ protein bar, orange
12:00 X-C ski “race”
1:00 garlic mashed cauliflower and meatloaf ranch burger
5:30 burger & fries whilst watching “Darjeeling Limited” (highly recommend)
9:00 SF pudding

Hoo boy, I was planning on lifting today but I have massive DOMS all down the posterior chain. My pecs are sore from pressing and my arms are sore from punching…. And it feels awesome! Love it. I went to the gym just to do cardio for the 2nd time this week which must be a record, ha!

On second thought, maybe it doesn’t feel so great. Today was the 30th annual “dress like an idiot and ski in a circle” competition to determine the 2007 Ski Champion (my team decided to be relevant so we dressed as rabid animals). To be ski champion you ski the loop once in one direction and once in the other and the person whose times are the closest wins! The issue is that there is a big hill so it’s basically impossible (and pointless) to try and time yourself, everyone just skis however and winning has nearly nothing to do with skill or speed.

Speaking of technique, I just taught myself how to skate-ski last Saturday and I haven’t been on the trail since then. Skating at its best is graceful, effortless-looking (picture a lanky Scandinavian in brightly colored tights). At its worst, it’s a flapping wobbling disaster (stumpy Asian dressed like a rat). I was doing pretty well on Saturday, but I didn’t have dozens of bizarrely dressed colleagues thundering past me. It took me a while to get my stride and then I quickly realized that my arms and legs were already totally exhausted from lifting and HIIT. And now it hurts to turn my head or laugh let alone walk and sit and do all those good things.

Thursday update!

4:30 wake
5:30 Lift, punch heavy bag
7:00 protein pancake (omega egg + 1 scoop prot powder), orange, tea
10:00 ½ protein bar (rushing off to vet)
1:00 salad w/ meatloaf ranch burger (didn’t finish)
3:30 apple, carrots, metabolic drive
5:30 (hungry!) teriyaki chicken, garlic mashed cauliflower
6:30 TKD 1H
8:00 SF pudding cup

Went to bed a little late last night because I was watching “Project Runway” and I flaked my bedtime and I had to work on my Rocky the Rabid Christmas Raccoon costume for Friday. I look more like a rat because I couldn’t figure out how to put the white part on my mask. I expended energy on a bandy tail so at least I can show it and explain that I'm supposed to be a raccoon. I crocheted the whole thing so I won't injure myself falling on it.

Bratski catski let me sleep in til 4AM! I just did a bunch of big heavy compound moves at the gym and then punched the heavy bag to round out my hour. I feel very chipper and cheerful I think from the combo of sleep and not doing Afterburn. She’s pretty mad because of the vet visit, normally she likes to ride in my lap, but on the return trip she hopped into the passenger foot area and pouted for awhile. My mom is convinced the troopers are going to pull me over when they see a little cat-face in the window, but she’s very quiet in my lap whereas she will yell if she has to ride in the carrier so I figure it’s less distracting.

Only three other adults showed up to TKD so it was a tough class. The latest torture device is a phone book wrapped in duct tape. One partner holds it against their chest and the other punches it as hard as they can. I got paired up with a boy (as opposed to a 10yo girl) so now I’ll have a phonebook-shaped bruise on my torso to go with my black knuckles.

Updates from Vvardenfeld

I have a HINT I have seen nowhere else for the Vow of Silence Pilgrimage.
I mean, seriously, do you think Bethesda wants you to freakin' WALK to Dagon Fel from Temple?!? Just take your vow, go around the corner, leave a thingy thing at the Shrine to Stop the Moon and levitate to Sheogorath. Be sure to bring plenty of crossbow bolts for the Cliff Racers and take a spin over Red Mountain to buzz the zombies, they love it!

You: what the hell are you talking about?

Me: You flatter me with your attention, Outlander!

Disturbo the Anti-Sleep Cat II

5:30 wake
6:15 HIIT on bike, heavy bag intervals
7:30 2 omega eggs, ½ zucchini, feta, salsa, kiwi
10:00 after all that I realize I've run out the door without my food.... coffee, sm piece gingerbread, 1/2 protein bar
12:45 chicken caesar salad w/ croutons picked out
4:00 ostrim, lg apple
7:00 teriyaki chicken, garlic mashed cauliflower
9:00 same as 7:00

OK, I’m alive, I haven’t really been slacking or lured by the temptation of xmas cookies. The cat has come completely unhinged, mentally, and gets up every 2 hours (max) and does the banshee shriek or she gets obsessed with drinking out of the tub or going downstairs and hollers about it. This all means that I haven’t been getting any sleep which makes it hard to get up at stupid o’clock to do an Afterburn workout.

I’m not sure what’s wrong, maybe her thyroid tumors have suddenly gotten worse or there’s something wrong with her medication. They gave me generic methimazole once which she couldn’t absorb and she was a total crackpot then too. I doubled her dose and she didn’t turn into Zombie Girl, but she still got up a few times a night. Last night I gave her a triple dose (desperation) which she tolerated just fine and was more normal. Anyway, we have an appointment with the vet tomorrow morning. I still haven’t gone to the doctor, but I will rush off to the vet at a moment’s notice.

Being woken up by a Siamese scream is awful, you can literally feel your cortisol spike. I have no idea how humans have managed to reproduce. If I were a cave-lady a couple of sleepless nights would probably convince me to leave the offspring in the woods, but maybe that’s just my (abject lack of) maternal instinct.
So bad sleep = reduced workout probability = low appetite = lethargy = no grocery shopping = no food = missed meals. I haven’t really been eating badly, just given the choice between Scrounging for Something Healthy vs. Not I tend to not eat. I’ve rebounded a couple of pounds that way and I can see it in the spare tire.

I really don’t want to limp into the home stretch and feel bad on vacation so I have some modifications:
1 party per week for the next few weeks which will be the one cheat meal in lieu of 10% meals
No starch except for WO waxy maize
2 fruit per day max
As much veg as I can stuff in
Lift 4 days per week
HIIT 4 days per week
TKD 2+ days per week
Other activities such as X-C skiing (we got snow, huzzah)

I think I will look for something other than Afterburn. Being a wimp I think I pace myself a little to get through the monster sets and I’d rather just go all out on a upper/lower superset.

Trying Tuesday

4:30 – 7:00 wake
7:30 turkey sausage casserole
10:00 strawberry metabolic drive (forgot to eat my fruit)
12:00 kung pao chicken, cauliflower, satsuma
1:30 the rest of lunch
3:00 raw cashew, cacao, MD smoothie
5:30 salmon w/ miso glaze
6:30 TKD 1h

I think maybe the lack of daylight is starting to get to me and I should make more of an effort to get outside during lunch. I was really soundly asleep when the alarm went off and then I felt awful when I tried to get up so I decided I would sleep a little more and then work out at home… Ha! Never bargain with yourself when you’re tired because you’re always lying. I will go to TKD tonight and now I’m feeling guilty so there’s no way I’ll skip cardio tomorrow, right? Right?
Was a bit discouraged this morning and feeling like a puffy, weary, frustrated and unmotivated pig. It’s the end of the semester, it’s the end of the year, it’s the home stretch of my 20 week body-improvement project and I’m just tired. But, y’know, even if I “quit” I’d still eat the same way and keep going to the gym. I think the only difference would be that I wouldn’t get down on myself for missing workouts.

I’ve come a long way since last December. I bought a bikini with boy-shorts bottoms two summers ago as incentive to regain my health and the first time I took a picture with them I had to jump to get them up and I wasn’t sure I’d be able to get them off. Now I can just slip them on and lace them up with extra room in the waist. I know it took me 12 months to do what normal people could do in 3 months, but time passes and progress is progress. I probably won’t be where I want to be until this summer, but I’ll get there eventually.

It's Christmas in Balmora

I've been playing "Morrowind" again. One of my favorite stupid things to do is to collect any lit candle or lantern that isn't tied down, take it home and line my house like holiday lights. You may say, "Hey, that's not your house, it's Dura gra-Bol's house!" But I just carried out the contract like an obedient little Fighter's Guild sheep and then the house was empty so now it's MINE. I actually like Fast Eddie's house better because it's more convenient, but then I'd have to pick a fight with him. Then you might say, "Go play outside!" or "Make some friends, dork!" and I DID and they all gots edjumucated and moved away, so there.

Goji and Nibs

4:30 wake
5:30 whey + waxy maize, Afterburn PIII day1
7:00 turkey sausage casserole, coffee, sm potato
10:30 2 satsumas, boiled egg
12:00 beef stew, spinach
3:30 Met Dr, greens powder
6:00 kung pao chicken, steamed cauliflower
8:00 goji berries, cacao nibs

Felt much stronger today when lifting, maybe from the pig-out last night or the waxy maize or from not being sick anymore. Slept ok the last few nights because I held off serving ‘dinner’ to the cat until I was ready for bed. Then the food-coma kept her quiet for most of the night.

Also went to the health food store and they had cacao nibs and goji berries which I've been dying to try. The Nibs are weird, they're almost like coffee beans, but have a softer bite and considering they smell like chocolate and taste like bitter baking chocolate they are weirdly addictive. The goji berries are really good, they kind of look like dried rose hips and they're sweet and chewy with tiny seeds inside.

Sunday 12/2/07

Turkey sausage casserole
Turkey meatloaf burger, peas
Peanuts, satsumas
Berry/chocolate/PB/rice protein shake
Dinner out: steamers, Caesar salad w/ salmon, sourdough bread, decaf, ½ brownie

I was actually doing really well today, then I had a snack, went to a concert with my Mom and then out to dinner. And I was doing well, really really well until my dish was late and there was a huge bowl of steamers in garlic/white wine/butter/lemon/shallot sauce and a basket of hot sourdough bread in front of me. I thought had this past week hadn’t been that great and how I said I was going to focus and how I’d have to write this down for all to see. And then I caved. Sourdough crust dipped in the steamer juice was really really good.

You know what's a really funny movie I would never publicly admit to loving? "Malibu's Most Wanted". I have to watch it when it's on cable, or at least the part with the line "Damn, fool! You hit my house!" I love TV. I know it's supposed to stunt my mental growth, make me antisocial and fat, but I love it. I guess I don't usually sit and watch, just have it on as background noise or to distract me from odious tasks like folding laundry. I do sit through "Torchwood".... season finale with Dr. Who tie-in?!? BOooooooooOOOOOOOooooo! Hisssssssss!

Five weeks left

Saturday
Turkey sausage casserole
Beef & green bean stir fry
Peanuts and Satsuma orange
Scallops w/ pecan/garlic crust, Satsuma oranges, coffee
3:30 HIIT, LISS (60m total)
6:00 healthy dinner w/ starch

As you can probably tell, they have those crates of tiny oranges at the grocery store, hooray winter! They are a little too easy to eat and I really need my veggies, but otherwise, am on track for today.

In other news, I sorted my yarn stash. There’s really only (yes sir, yes sir) 3 banker’s boxes full, but there was this growing pile of plastic bags behind the couch. I also re-discovered some abandoned projects, some of which were frogged and some which have been reactivated. When I have time. Which is never.

Anyway - FIVE WEEKS LEFT. I can FOCUS for five measly weeks despite the holidays. We are all geniuses for picking the absolute worst time of year for swearing off yummies. Or maybe it's the best time of year? Anyway - off to the gym!

Friday
6:30 Afterburn PIII, day 1 at home
7:30 sm potato, turkey cacciatore
10:00 ½ serving of turkey sausage casserole
12:30 ½ roast beef, provolone, cream cheese & veg on cheddar jalapeno bagel, chocolate chip cookie
2:30 the rest of the sandwich
After that….????????

The cat is old, demented, hyperthyroid and Siamese. Last night she decided that I should turn the tap in the tub on for her to drink out of so she kept going into the bathroom and howling in the tub which makes a terrible noise. I finally locked her out of the bathroom so then she got up every hour and a half or so to go about her cat business and then announce her return. She’s also deaf so shouting, “Hey! Shut up!” doesn’t work and you have to flash the lights to snap her out of it which is not good for sleep. Needless to say I missed my 4:30 wake up time. However, Phase III involves a lot of one-legged stuff which I can’t use a lot of weight for anyway so I was able to do the whole thing at home with only two minor substitutions.

In other news, I was looking at my Omron instructions and you’re supposed to hold it with a firm grip, which I was not. So first thing upon waking, at my most dehydrated, it read 27.5% (-.6%).

Thursday
6:00 wake
10:00 rice, turkey cacciatore
12:00 rice, turkey cacciatore
2:00 turkey cacciatore, ww bread
4:00 satsuma orange
6:30 1H TKD (light effort)
8:00 beef and green bean stir fry

I guess I’m not fully recovered, I felt horrible and nauseous today, but slightly peckish so I ate tiny meals and skipped cardio. I went to class and the instructor likes to work on technical stuff so it wasn’t too intense. We did some shield drills, but I got paired up with a girl my height. Unfortunately, I usually outweigh someone my height by about 30lbs and 28 years and I kick hard so they’re scared of me and they flinch or jump back. I hyperextended my knee because the shield wasn’t there when I kicked.