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atthequillsmercy

Late WIP “Wednesday” and Other Assorted Nonsense

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Althought things have been less cursed, I still need to catch up from all the absolute fuckery I’ve had to deal with. I forgot to update yesterday, so you’re getting it today.

I am very, VERY slowly easing back into working out. The desk peddler has been doing well enough that I got on the treadmill today for a brisk 30 minute walk. Nothing too intense and my knee felt fine. At least I can be active again.

Ive been doing the most random shit with my food. It’s basically “What’s in the house and will it taste good together?” I’m spending less on food when I can. I love how I mangled the egg in one picture and nailed it in the other… Eh, it tasted good either way.

Anyways, on to writing news:

  • Long Smut: 15,597 words
  • Short Smut: 2,695 words (6 prompts published)
  • Dewey: 15,778 words

I’m not hitting my daily goals but I am making progress on publishing those short stories. I am making some sales with the Read an E-Book Week event going on. While of course it’s mostly the free ones that are selling, I am SO glad to see something other than the smutty stories actually selling. Yes, I wrote those to make money faster, but it’s nice to see my regular work getting some love. If you have picked up any of my work, I can’t tell you how grateful I am!! The sale lasts till the Saturday the 7th. There’s still time to snatch some up if you want!

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Today’s Workout: It’s gonna take more work…

Since my knee isn’t back to 100%, I decided to take it very, VERY easy and stick with the desk peddler and only do 30 minutes. I tell ya, my thighs sure didn’t remember doing this. That’s a good thing. I want my body to get used to workouts again. Until I can walk without feeling my knee twinge, this is what I’ll have to be doing.

I’ve been experimenting with some meals again. I tried some marinated chicken thigh in Japanese cabbage, ground chicken in my Itaki lunches, and using arugula instead of spinach in that pasta dish I like to make. I’m on the lowest dose of Saxenda for now. My weight did go back up to 216, and I’m not happy about that. I can’t be helped, though, since I could barely walk, much less go for a run. My nails are almost completely back to normal, and despite the fact I’m certain my blood work will be shitty since I couldn’t do any cardio, I don’t think I’m doing too badly for someone who wrenched a knee. So far, this month has been far less cursed than last month. I’m sure I’ll be able to make up for it.

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Workout Weekly Recap: FFS

Every time I feel like I’m getting back on track, something happens. I was hoping to get back into workouts on the weekend mornings, but instead, there was a leak in the basement, and I spent the whole day dealing with plumbers, home insurance, and water damage remediation. Over the next couple days; repairs and a new water heater. Oh lovely! I can’t wait to add 7k to my debt (if the home insurance decides to jerk me around). But it did feel good to get moving on the days I was able to. I can’t really complain about that.

I’m varying my food some more by trying out spinach in my Itaki meals, and it’s okay. I’d rather have broccoli or bok choy. The timing is better for cooking, and it’s more filling for me. I managed to get some ground bison on sale and made some chili (while the nice men were working in my shitty basement). The pasta dish was a way to use up those cherry tomatoes and spinach before they went bad, and it was actually pretty good! It was just butter, olive oil, pasta water, and parmesan cheese. Creamier than I’m used to but I’d totally make that again. I’m more in favor of setting up the slow cooker so I can do other things. I guess in a way it was a good thing the leak happened on a rare weekend I wasn’t working… 

This coming week is also going to be a mess. At least to start. Things will go back to normal once the new water heater is installed. At least I hope.

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Today’s Workout: Welcome to January

Yeah, the January workout posts. Guilty as charged. But, as I did this, I could tell that I hadn’t lost much strength from not working out for a while. This was challenging but not impossible. Not every day should or can be a cardio day, no matter how much I enjoy running while I’m doing it.

I’ve been having fun with random meals and doing my best to try and have something light for breakfast. I usually don’t eat breakfast at all. And of course, I made a big ass pork shoulder for New Year’s that will be in a few more meals. I’m upping my veggies and protein most of the time since I’m still working on my goal for all ten fingernails to be completely attached. It’s just the ring fingers that need to grow out now. That’s so freaky… That’s why I want to wean off the Saxenda at some point.

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atthequillsmercy

Workout Dump: Back to work

I’m easing my way back into running and just being more active in general. I didn’t work out today because I shoveled snow, but it feels good to get back into the thick of it. A bit painful, but it’s worth it.

I’ve been changing up my foods to try and get more iron in my diet. And my kid LOVES the pasta, spinach, and sun-dried tomatoes. Of course, with enough garlic to ward off vampires the next county over. I switched from batch cooking one day to cooking more often during the week and using different vegetables. Yes, I’m eating more carbs, I’ll just have to compensate by working out like I have been. Carbs aren’t the enemy anyway. They’re running fuel.

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Workout Dump: Season One Complete!

Now, you may be saying: “Lenni, you already finished season 1 years ago!” And you are correct! These workouts were finishing all the season one Radio Abel clips. With some 5k trainer thrown in there. After NYCC, I kept up with some very easy walking workouts and I think it actually helped me recover faster! Moving more in general is good and the scale is inching in the right direction again. I’m also doing my crunches and upped the number of wall pushups. Kinda like my writing, bit by bit progress is being made.

I got some boneless chicken thighs on sale and made a whole batch of buttermilk fried chicken for me and my kid to eat during the week. For the first time, I had it over a bed of Napa cabbage and onion with lemon juice, olive oil, and lemon pepper on it. It was actually quite refreshing! I scored more of that amazing focaccia bread from the farmer’s market for sandwiches (yes, that is a book bento box), and I’m eating more types of vegetables. Sometimes, I have the energy to stand there and chop peppers, sometimes it’s lightly sauced steamed in the microwave vegetables. Lately, my calories have been over 1000 a day but I am totally ok with that if I’m active and it’s not junk food. I’m back on the Saxenda on a low dose. I don’t feel overfull and I think my nails are growing back attached. I’m super excited about that.

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Workout Dump: Longer Workouts and Adjustments

I finished the pirate missions and now I’m working through this spirit quest like one? It’s really interesting! I can’t always run but then I walk; trying to get in at least 40 minutes when there’s space in my schedule. Overtime hours are available again and instead of sleeping in longer, I get up and work out before I go in. I even managed to destroy the seam on another pair of running pants. Odd that I take that as a win… But I’ve also noticed more loose skin on my thighs even if the scale hasn’t moved as much as I’d like.

After the big clean out for the new fridge, I have been trying to use up more of the stuff I had in the freezer. It may be odd to be thinking “Gosh, I gotta eat all this bacon” because it’s on auto ship with my Butcher Box order (free bacon for life, baby) but I kept not eating it since it’s unhealthy. Then it just built up. BLT salads are a great way for me to get protein with my salads while taking a break from tuna. With grocery prices the way they are, I only buy things on sale and the bacon I have in the house is better for my wallet than going out to buy full-price tuna. And since I’m militant about calorie counting, I still log everything to make sure I’m in a calorie deficit, drink plenty of water, and try to keep averaging 7k steps a day. And honestly, even the piddly 20 wall pushups, 100 crunches, and 100 squats are making a difference. I have noticed I am stronger. I don’t get winded as quickly, I can pick up heavier things, and stuff I normally could lift, I can hold longer. This is not to say that moving large things like a mini fridge doesn’t result in muscle pain (I keep my Saxenda in a small fridge in my room, and I got a new one that has a self-defrost) but I did it. I did it all by myself. I do need to chill on the carbs more, though. And up my protein. I’m slowly building muscle and I want to keep that train rolling.

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Workout Dump: Doodles

I normally don’t post the little notes I get from Zombies Run but this one from Sam is just too damn adorable! I really like these training missions! It’s so nostalgic with all the people I heard from way back in season one of the app coming back. And you’ll see I did one mission twice and that’s because I didn’t notice that it hadn’t been marked complete the first time. I just did it again. No biggie. Steps are steps.

I’m making good progress on cleaning out the freezer, which is why I made a random Cornish game hen in the middle of the summer. I don’t want to put the oven on but I also don’t want to waste food. I’m already tossing out a lot of random stuff I’ve unearthed and whenever I do, I hear my mother’s voice telling me that wasting food is a sin. I assuage my guilt by promising not to overbuy things in the future.

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Workout and Food Dump: I miss some things

I’ve been pretty active and trying to do more strength training regularly. I remember my morning and evening squats more often and even grabbed the kettlebell here and there. The only real change I’ve seen is better endurance for my runs and a slight drop in my body fat percentage (37.4 to a flat 37). By weight is still stuck but hey, less body fat is a good thing!

With the longer runs, I try to have dinner cooking while I’m running, but that doesn’t always work. That salmon turned out dry as fuck. Edible but not enjoyable. The rice and beans turned out good, though. That could sit in the rice cooker during a workout without getting ruined. Those pickled onions aren’t homemade this time; I got them from the farmer’s market. They’re pretty good, but there’s just something about making it yourself. I’m probably doing it wrong, too. That’s usually how I end up with unique things at home.

I’m happy-ish with my progress but I miss some of my old workouts. I used to do Zumba and it was fun! But so’s running. I dunno, I’ll think of something.

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Today’s Workout: Incorrect

I goofed and didn’t time the mission correctly and the stride length was wrong so my pace is completely off for this run. The treadmill has a bunch of metrics on it and it said I did 2 miles. I’ll have to tweak it tomorrow for the next run. I know it’s not about the numbers, it’s about burning calories but still! I did those miles and I’d like to see them.

I tried white balsamic vinegar for this salad and it was pretty good! Totally different vibe from the darker stuff. And I got into the spirit of warmer weather and grilled myself a hamburger for dinner. I ended up giving the pickle to my kid because I couldn’t finish it; I was too full. It’s so strange to feel so hungry I could pass out before lunch but too full to finish dinner. While the scale hasn’t moved, I have noticed my face is thinner and so is my waist. I’ll get there. I’m so close to getting out of the 200 club. Once I’m done with the 5k trainer, I’m gonna switch to the 10k, meaning longer runs. I’ll have to do them on my days off or days where I go into work later and do shorter runs during the week. I am aware I need to do more strength training. I invested in some adjustable weights for me and my kid to share.

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