What are your health / fitness goals? Accountability

Aloha! Things are good over here. Today is going to be a Glutes & Shoulders workout.

Last week I read:

• The Book of Five Rings by Miyamoto Musashi This is a classic that discusses strategy through the context of swordsmanship. I'm going to go back and review this one again and again.
• Georgie, All Along by Kate Clayborn This was a cute little romance about a girl from a small town who gets laid off from her fast big city job. Comes home and falls for the one time town trouble maker and current town hermit. It was very sweet and a nice light-hearted change of pace.
• The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom by Miguel Ruiz This book has appeared to me in my dreams a few times through the years. When I read it for the first time nearly a decade ago, I was working 4 jobs and rushing around trying to find my way (a lot like Georgie in the book above). I was living paycheck to paycheck and took everything a day at a time. I'm trying to apply these agreements to my life now.
• The Pram by Joe Hill This was a creepy little short story set in a small farmtown in rural Maine. It talks about some of the struggles a husband goes through when his wife has a miscarriage. I think this is a topic that is rarely discussed and it was well-written.
• Ankle Snatcher by Grady Hendrix Another short story in what is called "the Creature Feature series" This one talked about the monster that lives under the bed or maybe it's in the head... Hard to tell sometimes.
• Storm Watch by C.J. Box Apparently, this is book #23 in the Joe Pickett series, but it's the first book by Box that I have read and it worked well as a stand alone. A Wyoming game warden investigates a mysterious death at a secret, remote, high tech facility... And now I'm obsessed with Peregrine Falcons.
• The Giver by Lois Lowry This book always reminds me of Logan's run. I still can't believe that they assign this one to 4th graders.

I'm currently reading:

• Forever Strong by Gabrielle Lyon This one is taking me forever to get through. It is well-written, but I think I might be getting a little tired of diet-esque books.
• Life in the Fasting Lane by Dr. Jason Fung I'm thinking of giving fasting another shot.

So far I have read 98 / 100 books! Almost there! What are you reading or listening to these days? Hope you will all have a wonderful week!

 

I need to start reading again.

 

Sometimes it's a nice break / escape from reality.

 

Yesterday was cardio and core day. Also took another live dance class followed by stretching. We went for a short walk by the water when a storm rolled in. As we were driving home 2 cars rushed in with brights on then turned around and followed us aggressively. We pulled into a side road to let them pass us and they followed us and tried to block us. Followed us back to our road and tried to block us again. As we were driving to the police station it sounded like they were shooting a 22 in the air. They were random strangers to us and I could tell that they wanted to be aggressive and violent. Police took a report.

Nothing like this has happened in the nearly 5 years that we've lived here, but things have been sketchier, lately. I'm thankful that we got home safely and were unharmed, but it's unsettling to know that there are people out there who are willing to threaten others like this.
I'm not going to live in fear, but we are thinking of spending some time in the continental US roadtripping and finding nice places to walk and hike. My bf has been wanting to start traveling for awhile now and go on more adventures. I have just been a bit stubborn trying to save money and spend time with my cats, but now we have a good cat sitter.

Today is cardio day! Hopefully your lives are a little less "exciting" than mine.

 

Sorry to hear about your troubles in paradise. Seeing as how you are in Hawaii, I bet it's damn hard to get a gun and impossible to get a carry permit. I'm afraid that the continental US can be just as "exiting" sometimes, the best way to deal with those situations is to have a gun that doesn't sound like a 22!
I was finally able to get back to the gym. In October, I changed jobs and gyms, and I got out of the habit. Wish me luck!

 

@Wildbilly yes, even paradise isn't without its flaws. Hawaii is supposed to allow carrying, but I'm sure the state will drag things out as long as possible. I did look into getting the licensing process started, but the office that does registrations has very limited hours. Definitely more of a process than other places I've lived like WA, WY, and ME.
Congrats on the new job! That's a major life change and I bet you'll find a good routine soon. Great job on getting to the gym!

 

Likely I’ll make all four morning classes this week, work got in the way a bit recently. This morning 14 showed up, incredible! It’s not like it’s a big city so that’s really cool. One more tomorrow.

 

@Meat What a great way to start your day! 14 really is incredible. And if it's cold where you live, that's even more impressive.

 

Today is my rest day! I think I want to practice yoga and do some floorwork, car maintenance, etc. Laundry is already done and I'm loving this rainy weather!

 

I woke up thinking it was Saturday morning until my penpal emailed me and wished me a happy Friday. Lol.
I did an awesome leg workout that ended with 45 jump squats. Did lots of yardwork and just finished an hour of dancing. Hope you will all have a wonderful weekend!

 

Aloha! This week, I decided that I'm not going to fixate so hard on being keto. For the last 10 months I have logged, weighed, and measured everything and this process has been very educational for me. I'm still going to eat low-carb, low sugar, and high quality protein every day, but I'm not going to eat such high levels of fat. I'm also focusing more on eating colorful veggies and some fruits for the antioxidant qualities. I don't think I'm actually going to change my habits as a whole, but I am going to enjoy more variety. I am going to still do my weekly measurements and weight to hold myself accountable.

I reached my reading goal of 100 books! 102/100 books

Last week I read:

• The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde This is the 1st time that I've read this classic and I really enjoyed it. It's a very interesting concept and many of the topics that were covered still show through in modern times.
• Love Yourself Well by Lo Bosworth I try to read at least 1 women's health book a year. I like the way that she addressed the brain, gut, and lady parts and talked about how they are connected. I was also encouraged to learn that my current habits are pretty supportive for my health.
• Anne of Avonlea by L.M Montgomery Anne Shirley was my hero throughout my childhood. This book brought me right back to my childhood. I don't think I read it growing up and I really enjoyed the details that aren't covered in the movie. The first movie, "Anne of Green Gables" was pretty much written verbatim with the book. I was very surprised. I like the fact that there were some changes throughout this sequel. I wish that Anne hadn't grown up so quickly, though.

This week I'm reading:

• "Over the Edge of the World: Magellan's Terrifying Circumnavigation of the Globe" by Laurence Bergreen We are in the process of remodeling the other house on this property and I am reading this book aloud. It takes a lot longer this way, but I think it's more than worth-it. This book is so well-written and I highly recommend it. Through much adversity, Magellan embarked on this harrowing voyage.
• "Outer Order, Inner Calm: Declutter and Organize to make more room for Happiness" by Gretchin Rubin I'm still on a bit of a decluttering kick and I love doing this kind of thing at the end of the year to prepare for the new year. Rubin wrote the book "The Happiness Project" years ago. I enjoy her style of writing. You can tell that she really researches and experiments with her content.
• "Yellowface" by R.F. Kuang It just started this book so it's too early for my to share my opinion. It won the Goodreads Choice award in it's genre and has a fairly high rating. I'll let you know what I think!

This week I finally started working with the Scrivener software which has a word processor and many other features. I usually use open source software or Ubuntu and have used LibreOffice for years, but I wanted something with more features and decided to buy Scrivener for myself as a Christmas gift last year. Yes, I really procrastinated because I had other projects that I was working on, but it feels good to familiarize myself with this program.

Today's workout was a total body workout and I felt really strong and full of energy. How are you moving today? Hope you will all have a wonderful week!

 

Today I did a 40 minute upper body pure strength workout and it was challenging! I want to strengthen my rear deltoids because those always feel weak and awkward. I also want to improve my dips.
I'm starting to get excited and am thinking about what I want to work on this next year. This year I wanted to work on handstands and inversions and I'll admit that I didn't stick with it. Thankfully, there were lots of other skills and habits that I did work on and I'm proud of that!
I know that I want to work on spinal health, core strength, and thoracic flexibility so I'll add those to the top of my list.
What are skills and habits that you would like to work on throughout 2024 and beyond?

 

Yesterday I did a total body workout and today I did a 45 minute hiit workout. I'm looking forward to rest day tomorrow! Hope you will all have a very Merry Christmas!

 

That sounds pretty nice! It's good to be bad around the holidays, right? Merry Christmas! You got extra cool points per cherry too!

 

Today I did an hour of hooping followed by a 40 minute upper body workout. This evening I would like to practice dancing then yoga before bed. I successfully learned my 1st complete drum solo as a Christmas gift to myself! It's too long for me to post here. It feels good to set a goal then reach it! I found the next choreo that I want to learn and it's beyond my current skill level, but I'm going to start working towards it. I also want to do a lot of floor work between now and mid february. Hope you will have a wonderful week!

 

Jiu Jitsu is cancelled until the 1st of the year, new digs. I’m going to run every day until we return. My plan is to smash that first day and all of 2024!

 

@Meat this sounds like an excellent plan! I have a good feeling about this new year.

 

I started a 36 hour fast last night that ends tomorrow. It's my very 1st time. I haven't even done a 24 hour fast before, but decided to go all in. 20 more hours to go!

I did over an hour of hooping this morning and am going to do cardio and core this evening.

 

I broke my fast after 38 hours and it wasn't bad at all. I think I'm going to try to do this 36 hour fast once a week.

Yesterday I hula hooped and did a 30 minute cardio workout that kicked my butt. Today will be a total body workout. Interviewing prospective tenants this evening. I hope we will get someone good. It's been nice to have the whole property to myself these last 2 months, but money's good too.
All of my paperwork got successfully processed for a travel visa. I'm so excited. Just 2 more months here and then our visa appointments happen. I'm not going to disclose my exact destination for safety reasons. Praying everything goes smoothly!