The answer to this question, short version:I had a lot of work to do for my course, and then I collapsed in a heap for a while.Actually, I wasn't totally collapsed. I seem to have done a few things in the past month or so:* I knitted a pair of fingerless gloves* My friend C came to stay for a few days and we visited castles* I learned to make pastry from scratch (it's easy: what was I afraid of?)* I bathed the guinea pigs on three occasions (they had a skin problem, poor little crumbs)* I found a pair of comfy shoes I can wear with skirts* I read a lot of books* I ate tomatoes and peas that I grew myself* I planted a lot of bulbs* I watched several episodes of Firefly, and - only three months late - the series finale of Doctor Who* I had my 29th birthdayWhat's that you say? None of these...
Yes, I know it's more than a month since I last posted. I have no excuses, other than being busy. I still am, so this is just a quick update on what's been going on.J finally returned to work in late May, and managed about three weeks without needing to take time off. Then he got a stinking cold with a temperature, had to stay at home to recover, felt exhausted and weedy and became despondent again. However, he saw the doctor yesterday and she thinks he has post-viral fatigue syndrome - which is quite plausible as he's had it before. The possibility that there might be a physical cause for the way he's feeling is actually making him a little more cheerful. We'll see how things go.Meanwhile, I have had an awful lot of reading to do for my current module, which is hard work, and also a...
No longer ill, but still a bit weary. I'm going to have an early night tonight.I'm back to more normal eating - maybe with slightly fewer chocolate biscuits than in the pre-illness week - and so far have not encountered any weird effects. I'm still at 182, though the bodyfat monitor on the scales has gone down to 34%, having been stuck at 36% for longer than I can recall. I know these things are hideously inaccurate, but am choosing to see this as a hopeful sign on the grounds that it must be measuring something.My new bike is still good (and I must book it in for its after-purchase free checkup). I went right back to riding to work, although I didn't do it today because I went to bed with a mysterious achy calf, which was still there when I woke up.I'm blaming it on too much time spent...
I have lost four pounds (I won't say "this week" because I forgot to weigh myself on Monday, and quite probably it would only be one or two since then). This is good. The current number is 182 (35% bf).It's something of a surprise since I rather thought this had been an unhealthy week - they have chocolate biscuits at work, and I've been eating them. On the other hand, there's the cycling, and three flights of stairs to climb to get to my office - but would you have thought that was enough to make a difference? I only work three days a week.I didn't get to bike in on Wednesday, indeed, because it was so windy that J was worried I'd be blown under a lorry. The wind is the main disadvantage on my route - the traffic isn't actually too bad, especially in the morning. Oh, and the Big Hill....
In answer to your questions: everything seems to be going OK so far. Yes, I can see out of a window with a beautiful view over Edinburgh and down to the sea. My chair is all right, though it has no arms. I keep trying to rest my elbows on thin air.I used to work in this place a few years ago, so I know many of the names already, and the staff fridge is near-empty, so plenty of room for my cottage cheese. Nobody but me seems to drink coffee, but I have supplied myself with some of my preferred brand (and some herbal tea). One of my favourite coffee shops is also just over the road. Other comments (about guinea pigs etc) have been responded to below!The job is in the records field. I'm not going to tell you where it is, except that it is about 30 minutes by bike from my house, all uphill....
What are pulses? They're the seeds of plants from the legume family: so chiefly beans, lentils and peas. The ones in this picture are mung beans (the green ones) with whole grains of wheat and radish seeds, which I've been sprouting on kitchen paper to go in our salads.Mum used to sprout seeds - chiefly lentils, I think - when I was little and I'd forgotten how much I like them - they have a sort of fresh earthy taste (that sounds really enticing... but I can't think of a better description). You can add them raw to salads in small quantities, or stir-fry them.There's info here on what you can sprout and ways to do it, but I just put damp kitchen-roll on a plate, rinsed the seeds and spread them out, put it inside a clear polythene bag near a window. I removed the bag once the sprouts had...
OK, nobody actually lives in our fridge. Or I hope not.There's a competition going on over at I Ate a Pie, and all the cool people, such as Dietgirl, are entering. So I have leapt on the bandwagon.We inherited the fridge from the previous owners of our house. As we didn't own any appliances, we thought this was pretty handy, and rather generous. Then when we painted the kitchen, we pulled it out of the very tight space it was in... to reveal a gaping hole in the plasterboard wall. I think we might maybe fix that properly before we come to sell the house.We have just gone to the shops today - specifically, Lidl - which is why the fridge is so full. It does not actually lean to the right, however full it is.Top shelf: lots and lots of lovely protein. To the left, we have some eggs and four...
I didn't think there was going to be much to report this week. I've kept up the SparkPeople tracking; doing pretty well, except for Wednesday when my father-in-law came to tea. But I had a light day on Thursday to compensate! This may be the first time I've actually achieved this. (Loth, I hadn't heard of www.weightlossresources.co.uk, so thank you! I should have deduced that such a thing might be out there. Not that I've got around to checking it out yet, or anything... And thanks for the comments, everyone else. I like comments.)Weigh-in will be on Monday, same as last time.I also went for another job interview yesterday afternoon, which I was very nervous about, especially since I had to give a five-minute presentation as part of it. I don't think I've done any public speaking since my...
Well, this has been a very full week, one way and another. Lots of academic work, job applications, and J had a bit of a crisis on Thursday (he'd held it off until I'd handed my work in...) There was talk of his going into hospital, and it was all rather frightening for a while.I know that going into hospital might not necessarily be a terrible thing, if it actually did some good, but given that J generally only wants me when he's feeling down, the idea of him being somewhere else daunts me. Not that it would be a bad thing if he had more people to support him, but... it's not that there is nobody else offering support; it's just that I'm always his first choice.However, it doesn't now look as though he will go into hospital (he's not a danger to himself, so if he did go, it would be...
I haven't posted very much in the last week or so:These two little chaps have come to stay with us for a couple of months. Their names are Snowy and Snuggles, and we’re babysitting them while their owners are abroad. We’ve been talking about getting pets for ages, and of the animals I have lived with before, guinea-pigs seemed the most suitable option: they don’t make me sneeze, they don’t seem to mind living in a hutch too much, and they don’t need taking for walks. Also they’re cuddly.Although he’s very fond of animals J has never had a pet of any kind, so this seemed a good way to find whether we really have the time to care for guinea-pigs, and whether he’s allergic to them. So far, the pigs have been a joy. They’re young and lively and chirp away to us...
I had a lovely time with my family in sunny Crieff. Here's the score:Badminton - two sessions; got beaten by J a lot.Tennis - one session*;beat Mum, got beaten by J.Swimming - went every day; swam 1km on my best day.Gym - went with L**; we ran for 10 minutes, stationary-biked for 20 (I think) and did some weights.Dancing - one evening. Very energetic.Climbed one hill (see pic).So I'm feeling a bit better about fitness-type things. Witness that in the photo above, I am wearing my Great Winter Run t-shirt, which requires a bit of optimism and not feeling ridiculous.Probably the thing I enjoyed most was the swimming, which must mean I have conquered my feelings of squidginess, especially as I was adding to my general unattractiveness in a swimsuit by voluntarily wearing a swimming cap. These...
On Monday, I cycled 7 miles (round-trip) over a fairly hilly route, accompanying J to see his doctor. This possibly wasn't the best route to choose for the first ride in several months, because as well as the seat-ache I was expecting, the backs of my thighs were seriously complaining yesterday. Which meant that I didn't do anything terribly strenuous.I can't help feeling it would be better if muscles let you know when you were doing something that is going to hurt, rather than saving it up so that you can't move the next day.I did clean the oven, though, which ought to burn lots of calories if there were any justice in life.The big news of yesterday: J went to work. And didn't have to come home. (And he went back again today. This is real progress, although he's only there in the...
