TV Tuesday - Summer Series

It's TV Tuesday ... time for another episode of "What I'm Watching".

I only have a few series that I follow throughout the year. Grey'sAnatomy, Good Wife ... I'd finished up The Walking Dead right after it aired, but Hubs just BARELY made it to the last few episodes. And that is why I didn't wait for him! Being a little more action packed, it's a good one to workout with ... gets the adrenaline pumping. 

MY shows finished up months ago though, which really isn't a problem for me. I have tons of possibilities in my Netflix queue and Amazon Prime list to keep my occupied whilst I elliptical.  I know there are several "summer series" ... but I usually just wait, rather than watching anything week to week.

I did make some exceptions this year ...

The new series Humans caught my eye. I liked the movie "I Robot" and the series "Battlestar Galactica" and the "Partials" book series ... all with a cyborg theme. We do have cable to access AMC, but I am not one to watch when a show is actually on, and our cable doesn't include the gym television.  Luckily, with my PlayOn/Play Later service, I could record the shows to my computer, then stream them to the Roku downstairs. I quite liked this series. It was too short. I'm sad it's over (for now). I was actually quite excited to go elliptical just to find out what was going to happen next. 

As I mentioned in last week's post, I also went ahead and watched the Wayward Pines miniseries, also reading the trilogy over the summer months. I know Falling Skies, Extant and Under the Dome were airing new summer episodes as well ... but I haven't gotten around to watching them yet.  I'm both waiting for the season to be done (to watch the episodes back to back rather than waiting a week in-between) and in the case of Falling Skies, for it to become Prime (I don't want to pay to purchase!) 

Hubs was super excited for the second season of True Detective. For me ... I just had a hard time following it, especially watching week to week. It is one that would have been better to wait and catch the episodes back to back. I wasn't the only one less than impressed with it (according to talk I've heard). 

Do you catch any of the Summer Series?

TV Tuesday - Aliens, Spies and Shopping in Old England

I've been getting in my exercise ... which means I've been getting in my television. They go together for me. I watch while on the elliptical, treadmill and even while doing weights (benefit of a home gym, being in complete control of the TV). Here are a few of the series I've seen this past month. I like variety!

I've always really enjoyed science fiction. The apocalypse tales so popular in fiction today are also fun to watch (well, maybe "fun" isn't the right word ... exciting, captivating). Falling Skies started a couple of years ago on TNT. It was one of those summer series, filling up those months with new programing when most of the networks are taking a break and airing reruns. I discovered Falling Skies when season 1 appeared on Amazon Prime's streaming. I think I caught season 2 there as well, then used Play On to stay up to date as Season 3 aired. Rather than recording and watching week to week as Season 4 started airing last summer, I just figured I'd be patient and wait (watch the episodes back to back AND have subtitles, needed for the noisy treadmill). When I noticed that Season 4 was available for streaming on prime ... it was time. I finished it up pretty quick and continue to enjoy this series.

I'd heard quite a few good things about "The Americans" (FX Original) so as I needed something new to watch, I figured I'd give it a try. I've liked Kerri Russel since her "Felicity" days. I do sometimes have trouble with 80's period pieces though. The clothes, the hair ... seriously, it's just hard to look at! But I do like the story. As with most cable programming, there are usually things that wouldn't be allowed on mainstream TV. Here, the sexual content is very high. There is violence, but it's not that bad, and there is no language. I watched Season 1, available on Amazon Prime Streaming. Season 2 is there, but I decided to wait, and switch styles in my series ...

I'm not all action and adventure. I thoroughly enjoyed "Downton Abby" and after watching it, I tried "The Paradise" which was about a lavish department store in early England. It was fine, I never really connected with the characters as I did on "Abby".   "Mr. Selfridge" seemed SO similar to "Paradise" I wasn't sure about watching it. I do like Jeremy Pivan though (from Entourage) and I really enjoyed this series. I've only watched Season 1 so far (finished it up this morning). It's available on Amazon for free streaming if you are a Prime member. Season 2 is available as well ... but again, I think perhaps I'll shift series again and come back to it in the near future.

If you are watching a series and the next season is available, do you continue on, or do you like to switch up what you are watching?  Do you like coming into a completed season, watching all the episodes back to back, or do you prefer to keep current and watch then as they air?

I have watched the latest Grey's Anatomy ... what other series have started back up?

Well that's TV Tuesday for February ... hmmm, what shall I watch this month?

Day to Day (June2013)

June 1 (Saturday)

Sports Saturday! Started off with soccer for #5. It was his final game. He got two goals. A little later in the day we had back to back basketball for #2 and #3. I had to have my dad come help carpool one of the kids. They both won and both got some points. Nice to see #2 play again ... he's been out for a while with back to back broken bones (his right foot Sept2012, his left foot Jan2013).

Not a great eating day, although taking into account exercise credit I did manage to stay under goal. I had made some yummy rice krispie treats for hubby to take to a neighborhood carnival in the evening (while I was at basketball) and of course I snacked as I made them and had to taste test them ... and then he didn't end up taking them, so there were still around to temp me!

I got in an hour on the elliptical and 37min/10miles on the bike.

#2 beat me on steps (he ended up playing basketball at the park after the game and really racked up the steps!) 

June 2 (Sunday)

Sundays are hard ... today was hard. Ate too much (2725) and that WAS even with me recording everything and being aware. I actually did hold back a bit ... how many calories could I consume in the past when I was completely oblivious? It was a carb fest today ... I was so embarrased I put my food diary back to private (as I was feeling the urge to be dishonest in what I was putting down, and I can't do that!)

I had a bit of an emotional day, dealing with an issue that's coming up has me super stressed. Some Sundays I don't get in any cardio ... I did get an hour on the elliptical today, but it wasn't enough to combat the calories in (675 extra per the Fitbit for all the day's activity). Weight was up a bit from yesterday - technically I hadn't gone over yet. I wonder what the scale will say tomorrow after today ... 

June 3 (Monday)

Ok - Back on track after the weekend. Weight did come in at 176.7, up after yesterday.

My tummy was actually feeling a bit off, so I didn't eat a lot. It didn't keep me from cardio though. Got in 120minElliptical (6 20min sessions) , 37minBike, 15minWiiFit. It was a beautiful sunshiny day and I spent a little time outside too. Busy evening making dinner, running kids, and getting some groceries. Got in a little ping pong with #3. Basketball signups for summer too ... debating putting #3 on #2's team, even though that would mean playing against kids two grades up ... hmmmm, what to do.

Kept calories in low ... at 1100 actually. MFP told me I am eating too little, but believe me, it is not something I do on a regular basis! I don't know how anyone can even keep a 1200 calorie day diet regularly. Of course my sugar intake was still in the red, even with that. Exercise out was 1560 .... again burning more in exercise alone than I ate. 

June 4 (Tuesday)

Well ... the scale SHIFTED! 176.7 yesterday, to 173.4 today. 3.3 pounds difference in one day! I guess that is why it is suggested to not weigh in everyday. So even though I'm not sure what is up (if my slight gain was water weight, if some of this is) I'm going to be happy with it. Going down ...

Another good day today. The last day of the big boys in school. I got in 120minElliptical, 37minBike and 60minWeights. Also a little ping pong. Even spent some time cleaning the house (yea me, this is for the CLEANING, not for any caloric burn, but hopefully there was some of that, although I didn't track it, hopefully the Fitbit gave me something for all that vacuuming). Exercise credit was 1547. Food intake was 1850...

Finished my book "The Selection" yesterday ... started a new one for my bike ride today, but it isn't clicking as much. Watching "Falling Skies" during my elliptical workouts. 

Fitbit said the total step count was 22321, with a total calorie burn of 3374. 140 Active minutes. I beat #2 today!

June 5 (Wednesday)

My two older boys are now home during the day. The oldest was actually up uber early to participate in "Senior Sunrise" ... as they are now technically seniors. He did come home and go back to sleep. #2 also slept in, then had me take him to the local rec center. He's saved his money to buy a summer pass and plans on spending many a day there playing basketball. Although I had a very active day (25790 steps) he beat me with over 30K!

It is National Running Day today ... so I decided to "participate" (I can't really say "celebrate"). I did 60 minutes on the treadmill (3.5 miles). I tried jogging but only felt like I could keep it up for the first 1/2 mile. I alternated and did a little more jogging, adding some incline, but mostly walking. My feet weren't very happy with me after either. I really dislike wearing shoes. I do have several different pair but all of them seem to rub somewhere. While I've never liked shoes, I used to walk a lot more than I do now. When #4 was in kindergarten, I'd take #5 in the double stroller and walk to pick him up every day, 1.5 miles each way. As the older boys had basketball, I'd jog the track above the court during their practices and games, often getting in 5 miles at a time. I used to walk on the treadmill at a 14 incline. Now it's a challenge to put in an extended period of time, or any speed/incline at all.

I did get in some ping pong with #1 and #3 and my "usual" workout of 100min Elliptical (five 20 min sessions). No bike today. 

With exercise consideration (1380 calories burned) I did stay under my net goal, but it was close (calories consumed 2190) ... over my static goal of 1800. 

June 6 (Thursday)

Once a week, I generally go out to my folks. Try to help with little tech things (updating Itunes playlists, setting up Mom's new Fitbit, Facebook lessons). The folks are pretty tech savvy but still could use a lesson or two. Not that I'm an expert or anything. My brothers stop by for the harder stuff. I try to get a little ping pong or tennis in with Dad, then go out to eat with Mom. 

Now going out and tracking food is always a challenge. A couple weeks ago we went to Golden Corral and I was pleased to find that everything I ate was in the database. I entered the foods as I went and it was very helpful in keep in control. Today we went to Chuck-a-Rama, and I was hoping for a similar setup. Unfortunately I guess ol' Chuck isn't a national chain, so they haven't had to provide nutritional information. It really was a bummer to try and guess at things. My phone was having trouble too, so I didn't enter anything there, but attempted to when I returned home. Even staying somewhat controlled the one meal came in at over 1800 calories. I hadn't had any breakfast ... and now I guessed I shouldn't have any thing else for the rest of the day either. I did eat a tiny bit later in the day, but not much. I was still pretty full from our late lunch.

Spending a few hours going across town does impact the exercise too. I did pretty good at still getting it in. I'd done two 20 min sessions on the elliptical before I went out, and got in three more. Inspired a bit by a friend's calorie burn on the elliptical (much higher than mine) I did attempt to up the resistance for one workout, and introduce some speed intervals for another. The reading on the machine went up slightly, but the Fitbit didn't really up the calorie count (although the speed intervals got me more steps).

I also got in 10miles on the stationary bike, some ping pong with #3, 10min of WiiFit, walked about 10 minutes (to pick up #5 from a playdate) and ... I tried a weighted Hula Hoop (again, inspired by a MFP friend). I read it's good to start slow, so I did 7 minutes, keeping it up the entire time on my first try (I always liked hula hoops). I watched a couple videos, and they are all very dancy. I am NOT a dancer in any way shape or form, so I think I'll just be keeping it pretty basic, just a little add to the exercise each day. 

Calories consumed came in at 2045. Extra added for exercise was 1396. Fitbit steps 24289. Total calorie burn estimate 3224.

June 7 (Friday)

Good exercise day (especially for a Friday) ... not a good eating day. It was National Donut Day, and my son picked up a dozen. And I did partake. Calories came in at 2800 for the day. Yikes! Mostly empty too. At least hubby was to tired to initiate a Friday night day ... is that bad that I was happy about that? Movies or going out to dinner would have added calories to an already bad day. I did exercise a lot, so I was actually just barely under my MFP goal ... got 1500 exercise credit from 100min Elliptical, 35minBike, 60minWeights, 20minPingPong and 15minHulaHoop. Fitbit steps were at 25494 with total burn listed as 3341

June 8 (Saturday)

I got up and got in my first elliptical session for the day (20min/2miles). It was a basketball day. #2 had his game at 10:00, they lost. Back at home, I mowed the lawn (about 30min) and did some weeding. Then at 2:00 it was #3's basketball game. It was at a rec center that had a track above the basketball court. I ended up walking the track the entire time (in my sandals!) and got over 3 miles. My feet were a little sore. They won, so it was back for the championship game at 6:00 (same location). This time I planned ahead a bit better, actually wore running shoes and brought my headphones. 2/3 of the track is around the main court (where the team was playing) and 1/3 was around an auxillery gym (where I couldn't see the kids). I'd walk the 2/3s, then sprint the 1/3 (to get back to viewing the game). #3 wasn't getting a lot of playing time, I did stop and watch when he was actually in. I got in 5 miles. My feet were even more sore! I did get in 10 more minutes elliptical, 10 minutes of ping pong, and 10 minutes of hula hoop.

I was so busy today, I didn't have much time or appetite to eat. Calories in at 1400. Calories credit from exercise was 1570, so I actually had a negative net.

Fitbit step count was 32123, total calorie burn came in at 3407. I used to hit 30k a lot, but it's been a while. I think I only hit it twice in all of 2012, and both of those were basketball days (with track). I used to jog the track during every game and practice. Then games/pratices moved from the gym with the track, so that wasn't an option. I have both boys signed up (on the same team) for a summer season, and hopefully the practices and some of the games will be at these two gyms with tracks above ... but I'll probably go back to videotaping some games too (#2 LOVES the highlight reels I make of his games, and hopefully he'll be back enough after his break(s) to get some good action. If you want to see what one of my videos looks like you can see one here (it is the gym with the track above where I ran today) http://youtu.be/Uu9kauMng6w My kid is #2 ... these videos are my creative outlet since I've stopped scrapbooking *Ü*

June 9 (Sunday)

Weight just keeps fluxuating between 173 & 174 ... so want to at least get a drop below 170 as a quick/immediate goal... Sundays can be stressful, some issues that just always come up that get me down. Also usually a low exercise day ... can't quite make myself take a complete rest day. I know I should, it's good for the body to have a break, but I think a little exercise helps clear my head, get some exercise endorphins going. I also like to see at least one red spike on my Fitbit graph, helps me visually keep the day in perspective. Then of course, there are calorie considerations. I have a hard time staying at my calorie goal (1350 per MFP), and Sundays are usually bad eating days anyway! We don't do family dinner a lot, as schedules are so crazy and there having everyone home at the same time for dinner is rare. But Sunday mornings everyone is home, so we always do a big breakfast of bacon and belgian waffles. Often we will have a big evening meal, and usually homemade oreos for a treat.

Today I only ate half a waffle (which I've been doing since starting tracking calories) and was doing ok until the Sunday Stress hit ... at which time I NEEDED sugar and indulged in a Snickers PB Square. Hubby needed some treats for a class, so I whipped up some cake batter rice krispie squares. Of course I snacked on some, and then hubby ended up not taking them, so they were around to temp me all day long. I was going to make Haystacks for dinner but was missing a couple ingredients, so it just ended up chicken and gravy over rice. I only ate the chicken, as I was already over calories. I didn't make the usual homemade oreos (much to the dismay of the boys).

I did still start/end the day with an elliptical workout (45min total), did a little WiiFit balance and some ping pong. Also walked to church (just a short walk). I am feeling my workout from yesterday, I'm quite sore ... my calves, quads. Fitbit Steps 11884, Total burn 2430. MFP Calories Consumed 2200, Exercise credit 600 

June 10 (Monday)

Weight up a little from yesterday, even though I have managed to keep calorie intake under calorie burn ... sometimes it's close, but I haven't gone over. Dang it! I was still feeling quite stiff in my legs, I'm assuming from the jogging on Saturday. I was able to work through it for cardio and even did weights. 100minElliptical, 40minBike, 60minWeights. Also a little ping pong. Calorie credit for exercise was 1365.

Eating was ok ... Spaghetti dinner, and I did make dessert (the homemade oreos I didn't make yesterday.) Calories came in at 2200. Fitbit steps were 23580. Total burn of 3197. 

June 11 (Tuesday)

BIG cardio day today! Got in 120minElliptical, 40min/2milesTreadmill (3.0 MPH, some incline, calorie burn on the machine said 226), and 53minBike ... I was actually going for an hour but ... kids, had to stop and be mommy. Didn't quite catch the numbers on the machine so I just had to go with the MFP estimate. Got in a little ping pong and hula too. Total calorie credit today was 1640. Calories consumed came in at 2200. Fairly healthy breakfast of french toast, Lean Cuisine for dinner, but still too many snack calories during the day. Can't quite kick the sugar .... had a couple stress triggers (a note in the mail that #1 had gotten a speeding ticket he had not mentioned to me, and a call from the credit card company verifying an addition of someone to our account ... um NO, glad the company is on top of fraud before anything was actually charged but still) ... I just reach for the sugar during stress!

This was one of those rare days where my Fitbit steps were lower than my Omron. Fitbit came in at 32136 (Omron at 32600). Total burn came in at 3476. #2 STILL beat me in steps today though, he spent all day at the gym with basketball buddies and had basketball practice in the evening. This upcoming tournament has also been a stressor, as it is downtown and I do NOT drive downtown. But I talked with a number of parents on the team and I think he'll be able to catch rides ok. I'd actually LOVE to go watch him play, and be there just in case (as he's had two broken bones in the past several months)... my driving phobia has many drawbacks :(

June 12 (Wednesday)

Good day ... Got in quite a bit of cardio. 100minElliptical, 40minBike and even tried one of those 4-minute Tabata routines. Alas, no ping pong as my partner (#3) was busy. I also got in 60minWeights. Exercise credit came in at 1375. Did ok with the eating. My mom emailed and asked if I wanted to come out and go to lunch. I was stuck at home with carpool duty, so I couldn't. I do like going out, but it IS so hard to keep calories under control when we do. Of course then the boys were clamoring for KFC, so we did indulge for dinner. I kept calories around 2000.  Fitbit steps were 23889. Total burn of 3205.

June 13 (Thursday)

I got in 100minutes on the elliptical, 40minStationaryBike, 40 min Treadmill. I tracked them all with my Fitbit (recorded the activities with the timer) and while the elliptical and treadmill are pretty much on target, the bike (while being the smallest step count by far) had the greatest calorie burn (well over what my machine actually said). I have been aware of this, and so I've been manually inputting jut the bike workout on MFP and inputting the lower calorie burn. Better to underestimate the burn. Total exercise expenditure was 1260.

Did ok on eating ... calories consumed came in at 2000.  Fitbit steps were 25903 with a total burn listed as 3089. I beat both boys in steps today. 

June 14 (Friday)

Weekly weigh-in came in at 172.7, so it is down a pound from last Friday. 

We started with French Toast Friday ... it's a big breakfast for me, as I usually just pick and don't eat much until later. I really tried to keep lunch under control (apple, chicken, some chips) but had way too many treats for the day. If I eat good, I REALLY crave the sweets, and then I have the calories from both. If I only eat the treats ... I'm generally feeling the same, but without the extra calories (and vitamins and fiber, the good stuff I know) from my nutritious choices. Calories came in at 2530 (and that was with me actively NOT eating as much as I really wanted to). Exercise came in at 1330. 100minElliptical. 40minBike, 40minWeights. Fitbit steps 24270. Total calorie burn 3155 ... #2 beat me on steps, he also had 100 flights of stairs today! In between basketball games they ran stairs, and there was just a lot of up and down as they walked around. He was in the 90s when he got home, and ran the stairs in the house until he hit 100. Looks like #1 beat me in steps today too! 

The Weekend (15th&16th)

... I was worried about this weekend, weekends are always hard. So much stuff going on, not as much time for cardio. Often there are family gatherings that make controlling calories difficult. This weekend, we had family parties on both Saturday and Sunday. But it all worked out ok. 

SATURDAY (June15)

Got in 60minElliptical and 40minBike. Cardio calories 860. Fitbit steps 17431. Total calorie burn 2667 

Calories consumed 1800 ... started the day heavy with french toast. Then uber anxiety kicked in. Luckily it was the "stomach knotted up, can't eat anything" kind (rather than the "shove sugar into my mouth" kind). I was literally sick for hours. At the family party, dinner was pizza (I am not a pizza gal, so that didn't tempt me). I actually turned down the cake and ice cream, although I did sneak some off of my son's plate when he left his half-eaten. I guess it's good I checked the calories on the ice cream carton, as this particular brand had DOUBLE the calories of the one I have at home!

SUNDAY (June 16)

Got in 60minElliptical. Walked to/from church. Cardio calories 728.Fitbit steps 14382. Total calorie burn 2540.  

Calories consumed 1350 ... been a while since I've had a low day (and very unusual for a Sunday!) Being Father'sDay, #2 son made pancakes (Daddy's favorite) ... but they didn't appeal to me, so I abstained (which I never do when it's waffles or french toast). As I wasn't feeling very hungry, and anticipating eating at the family BBQ, I really didn't eat until dinner. There I had some marinated chicken, grapes & tortilla chips, with a brownie and ice cream for dessert (ice cream was still higher than our brand at home, but not the 260 calories per 1/2 cup from yesterday!) I was still surprised I was able to keep the calorie count so low. 

In the past ... I would have brought Doritos and Ruffles (even if I hadn't been assigned chips, as I wanted to be sure MY favorites were there). Today I figured if I didn't like any of the chips others brought, I wouldn't eat any of the chips. I almost always bring a sweet Chex mix (butter/cornsyrup/sugar over cereal and nuts) ... NOT low cal and easy to snack on by the handful. I didn't make it today ~ therefore I didn't eat it today. Even if I'm not assigned desserts, I almost always bring a dessert or two ... because I love dessert and I certainly don't want there to not be enough dessert, and again, I want to be sure it is a dessert I like. Today, I didn't bring a dessert ... and I looked at the cupcakes and cherry pie and thought "well, I guess I won't be eating dessert" ... of course then they brought out the brownies, and I did partake. I volunteered to bring a fruit or veggie tray, but was asked to bring jello cubes (a favorite with the kids). I made a small batch of sugar-free jello cubes (for me and my mom ... and #2 son who said they just tasted better) in addition to a big batch of regular (sugar full) ones.

I feel pretty happy about making it through the weekend successfully! 

Monday (June 17)

Mondays are usually me "back at it after the bad weekend" day ... ironically NOT the case this weekend (I was good) and today (I wasn't "bad" but calorie count was high). Calories in 2700 ~ Calorie Credit (Exercise) 1380. Total Burn (Fitbit) 3196. Did pretty well on exercise - got in six (20min) sessions on the elliptical and did 60 minutes of weights. Fitbit steps were 23314. Weight was up .4 from yesterday's 170.0

My mom had given my dad a new Fitbit yesterday for Father's Day and wanted to have me come out and help set it up. My sister was also in town, so we hit lunch at the local buffet. It's hard keeping calories in check at a buffet, especially when what I like is mashed potatos, fried chicken and fresh rolls (SCONES, Utah style, fried in oil!). So no breakfast, no dinner, but lunch only came in at 1800 calories. At home, I made homemade oreos for a treat (they had wanted it yesterday, but I had beem missing an ingredient). I can't resist them myself, with a nice glass of milk ...

Tuesday (June 18)

Good day ... today was my "Monday" I think *Ü* Calories in at 2029, Calorie credit 1500. Fitbit total burn 3310. Steps 25099. Exercise consisted of 100minElliptical, 35minBike(10miles), 30minTreadmill (most on an incline of 10 ... Fitbit DID seem to be able to tell, as calorie count was higher than a normal, level walk). Also got in a rousing game of ping pong, and a little hula. Eating ... it was a snacky, empty calorie day. I don't eat regular pizza, but we did get a Dominos with white sauce and cheese (so more like breadsticks than pizza) and I had a slice of that for dinner. ... school stress!

Wednesday (June19)

... another good day. Calories consumed 1634. Calorie credit 1677 ... I had a negative net today. Early in the afternoon, the numbers came in at 1176 eaten, 1176 burned. I thought it was funny that they lined up perfectly like that. Probably does not happen often. Total burn was 3485, Fitbit steps in at 25270.

Today's exercise consisted of 100minElliptical, 45minBike, 20minTreadmill (10%incline) and 60min weights! Whew!

Thursday (June 20)

... another good day *Ü* Calories in at 1400 ... seriously, I just don't know if I wasn't that hungry or what. I even kept my treats in check! Awesome exercise day too ... calorie credit of 1680. 60minElliptical, 45minBike, 30minTreadmill (with a 10% incline most of the time, Fitbit didn't give me nearly enough credit for that, but I didn't adjust it at all) ... then in the evening the boys had basketball practice. Above the court, there is a track. Practice was just supposed to be an hour, but they didn't get kicked off the court, so they continued another 30 minutes after. And I walked/jogged the entire time. 12000 steps! I could feel my pinky toe burning, and I do have a huge blister on it. This is the same spot I always get a huge blister. In fact, I don't know if it's really new, or just aggrevated from last time I ran the track during basketball (June8 ... I don't know if it ever really went away). The boys have a game on Saturday ... will I be jogging again? I either jog, or video the games. My boys love the little highlight reels I make, showcasing their awesome moves. Hmmm .... what to do.  Fitbit steps 34774. Total burn 3491. 

Friday (June 21)

Calories in at 1800 ... normally I have several items and a bulk of my calories under the "snack" portion, but today, I really only had Tootsie Rolls. Admittedly, the rest of my day still wasn't super healthy, but not plain sugar either. Calorie credit at 1250. 100minElliptical, 35minBike, some Ping Pong and WiiFit too. I thought about doing weights, but that's as far as I got. Fitbit steps 23470. Total burn 3056. 

I was a little off today, as #4 woke not feeling well. He did throw up then fell asleep for a long nap. It seemed a "one and done" deal. Today was their "Wax Museum" (where they dress up as a famous person from history ... he was Thomas Edison) and I was a little sad that we missed out on that :(

Super Saturday, Slow Sunday (June 22/23)

Another successful weekend ...

SATURDAY (June 22) Fitbit Steps 31266, Total Burn 3342

Calories in at 1850 ... I kept really busy and didn't have that much time to eat. I skipped breakfast (I know it's "the most important meal of the day" but I find if I can put if off, I save those calories), grazed for lunch (watermelon, tortilla chips), FrenchToast for dinner (the kids wanted it, and it's easy and a favorite). Only had two items in my "Totally Empty Calories" section ... Tootsie Rolls and some PB cookies.

Calorie Credit in at 1540. Three (20min) sessions on the elliptical, 35minBike. I also mowed the lawn and did some gardening. I got a good workout in during the boys basketball game as well ... 60min/4miles. I was glad a jogged instead of video taping the game. It was an easy win, and both boys got multiple baskets ... in fact with only five players, they played the entire game. But it was TOO easy, it didn't have the excitement of a well-matched game. They even turned off the score as our team pulled ahead by so much. At least I'm not regretting putting my 6th grader on this team (of 8th graders) - he's a shrimp out there, but holds his own. Much easier on me than trying to juggle practices and games for two different teams.

SUNDAY (June 23) Fitbit Steps 10247, Total Burn 2376 (wimpy wimpy!)

Instead of our usual church, we spent the day as a family at the lake with the wave runners. Hubby and the boys had been a few times this year, but it was the first time for me and the little boys. 

Calories in at 1700 ... I knew I wasn't going to get in exercise today and would need to keep calories in check. We did our usual big breakfast, I'm doing good at only eating 1/2 a waffle now. I WOULD have snacked a LOT more at the lake if I'd had more snacks along. I could feel the urge, but the boys quickly powered through almost everything I brought. We grabbed some Wendys on the way home, and again, I was saved overeating by an error (double check your bags before leaving the drive through, we only got half the nuggets we ordered and paid for but were on the freeway again before we caught it). So instead of six nuggets, I only ate two.

Calorie credit in at 570 ... I did manage to start/finish the day with a 20 minute elliptical workout. Other than that, it was a small walk to/from the beach, and the rest of the day was sitting. Hopefully in the future I'll feel better about being in a swim suit ... 

Monday (June24)

Feeling a bit off and run down today. Odd as yesterday was my "rest" day and Mondays are usually my best days. Only 5.34 hours of sleep according to the Fitbit. And emotional morning, many tears from #4 as we discussed the upcoming school switch.

Calories in at 2000 ... didn't have breakfast until really late. Family dinner of chicken and gravy over rice. I hadn't made homemade oreos yesterday, and they were requested. I made them and only had one myself.

Calorie credit of 1400 ... 100minElliptical, 35minBike and 60minWeights. Normally the boys would have basketball practice on Monday evenings, but almost all the boys were out of town, so practice was cancelled. But there is a game tomorrow, so I should get some jogging in ... it's not until 9:00 in the evening though. I don't care for those late games!

Fitbit steps 24423. Total burn 3238. 

Tuesday (June 25)

... a good day. Went to the school to see #5 in his first grade program. Still an emotional rollercoaster discussing the school switch with #4. Basketball game in the evening for #2 and #3 ... uber easy win. The other team looked like 5th graders (it's a 7th/8th league).

Calories in at 1800. I love cold cereal for breakfast ... the sugar/kid kind. I've really been loving salty tortilla chips for lunch too. Cut up a watermelon, it wasn't a great one. I'm not good at picking them. I kept planning on having some of yesterday's leftover chicken for lunch or dinner, then didn't get around to it. I know I need to get more protein in. Snacks/Empty Calories were a bit higher today.

Calories out at 1600. 80minElliptical, 60minBike, 10minWiiFit. I'd already hit 20K, and then jogged the track during the basketball game ... well, mostly walked. Got in about 4-5 miles there at the very end of the day. I had more steps than #2 during the hour (and again, there were only five players so both boys played the entire game). 

Fitbit steps 30702. Total burn 3428. 

Wednesday (June 26)

... today SHOULD have been a weights day, but too many distractions! First, nice and sunny and the older boys were gone, so I slipped outside for a bit to get some sun on my legs. Then spent some time on the phone finalizing the school switch ... I hope this is a good thing (moving 4&5 to a different elementary, on a traditional schedule rather than year round. Now all five of my boys are going to out of boundary schools). I also had to make a run to the store and the library. Then the AC broke! 80° in the house (at least it's cooler in my gym downstairs, but I always have to come up again).

Calories in at 1850. Calories out at 1260. Another distraction today was the arrival of my new HRM. I've just seen here how many people use them to help calculate calorie burn. I have a Fitbit and my machines all have calorie displays, but I thought I'd check this out too. So some time spent setting that up. I'm not really a fan of putting the cold wet strap around my chest. Some interesting readings so far, not totally unexpected that the HRM is coming in lower than both the FB and machines. Got in the usual 100minElliptical and 35minBike.  Fitbit steps 23508. Total burn 3070. 

Thursday (June 27)

It's HOT... and the A/C is broken. Pretty miserable night last night, and miserable hot day today. 91° in the house. Had a repairman out but it can't be fixed, we need to replace. Hubby bought a portable machine for our bedroom and it actually did a decent job (just in our room). We had the little boys sleep downstairs as it was about 75° down there.

Calories in at 2150 ... I did stress snack some, and then we went out to Wendys for dinner (there was no way I was cooking in the kitchen). Calories out at 1100 ... at least it was cooler in my gym, but the heat was getting to me. I had to stop a few times and rehydrate! 80minElliptical, 40min/2milesTreadmill (1/2 easy walk, 1/2 10% incline) and I did 60minweights. Fitbit steps 21566. Total burn 2946. 

Friday (June 28)

Another over 100° day with the A/C out. We did have some guys out to install a new one today, a new furnace too (as that was part of the problem). So they were in and out all day long. The furnace room backs my exercise room, so I was a little self-conscious about working out still, and wasn't sure if I needed to stay around in case they had questions. So didn't get quite as much exercise in as I usually do. Also had to go to the school for Honor Roll Assembly (all three boys got the award as usual). The A/C was back up and running by late afternoon, but still took hours (the night) to catch up to the hot house. We took the boys and went to the movies ... Monsters University. The A/C at the movie theater was in high gear. 

Calories in ... 2450. We went to the movies, need I say more? Popcorn and candy, I seem to have no control when I'm at the movies so I'd really rather wait for DVD and watch while working out. But sometimes a date with hubby or family time does need to take preference even to detriment of the diet. 

Calories out ... 900. 60minElliptical, 38minBike ... I also went ahead and tried the first level of 30DS for the first time. There is a group starting this in July (Monday) so I think I'm going to join and try to shake up my traditional workouts a bit (although it didn't too different than much of the stuff I have been doing. My HRM did get me higher during the aerobic portions).

Fitbit Steps 17890 ...Total Burn 2722. 

Whoops Weekend (June 29/30)

I HAD been doing quite well over the weekends ... until this one *Ü* I went over my calories Fri-Sun. Over my goal anyway (with the 500 deficit), I think I managed to barely squeak under my total burn ... and speaking of burn, SO nice to have the A/C fixed!

SATURDAY (June 29) 

Calories in 2600. I did ok for the first half of the day. Then during some grocery shopping I picked up some discounted donuts, and ate one (it wasn't even that good). I was also in a sugar snacking mode, and had quite a few snacks. Then the parents invited us out to Red Robin for dinner. I usually try to get the "kids" fish (two fillets instead of four) but I knew my mom wanted a sample, so I got the full size and gave her one. Which left three for me, which I ate. We actually skipped dessert at the resturant, but hubby had brought home some gourment cookies ... too tempting to resist. So, not a great eating day!

Calories out at 1000. 80minElliptical and 38minBike. Fitbit Steps 18959. Total burn 2834. 

SUNDAY (June30)

Calories in at 2400. We always do a big Sunday morning breakfast at our house. Today it was pancakes, which I can usually resist (not the case for waffles or french toast) but then did look good today and I had one. I was totally craving ice cream later in the day, enough that I caved. It was delicious and worth it. Unfortunately it wasn't my only sugar snack for the day ... and we had Skookie for a family treat. The boys did scarf that down, so I didn't get that much, which was ok ...

Calories out at 997. 80minElliptical and 38minBike. I also walked to/from church, but other than those items it was a pretty lazy day.  Fitbit Steps 19634. Total burn 2802. 

`

TV Tuesday - Is It The End of the World?

I'm not sure WHY I like post-apocalyptic stuff ... I'm drawn to it in books, movies and television series. Honestly, I don't think I'm much of a fighter and I'd probably go down in the first wave of a disaster. But the action and adventure make for good adrenaline pumping distractions while I work out!

I just finished up seasons 1 and 2 of The Last Ship. This came out a couple years ago, airing on TNT. It looked like something I'd be interested in, but I generally wait until a series has a season or two under it's belt, and I can stream it continuously (no waiting week to week). This never hit Amazon or Netflix, but it was on Hulu. I went ahead and did a trial, and used my PlayOn service to record all the episodes (as it did take me longer than two weeks to watch). 

In this, a virus has spread across the earth wiping out the population. One navy ship had a scientist out in the Arctic looking for a cure, and this series showcases their struggles in the post-apocolyptic world. There was a lot of action and excitement, and it really kept my interest. I generally get in an hour on my elliptical each day, and I was always anxious to hit the gym so I could watch the next episode. 

As I finished season one (10 episodes), I went right on to season two (13 episodes). Season three has some episodes out, but I think I'll wait until the season is complete (I'm currently recording them all from TNT) and then watch them all back to back. I'll miss my "Last Ship" fix now though!

The show I watched right before The Last Ship was Survivors. In this series, a virus has spread across the earth wiping out the population. Hmmmm, sounds familiar (exactly the same as the premise above, but to be fair, this came out years before The Last Ship).  I really should NOT watch such similar series back to back ... although, really this COULD have been happening at the same time/different country. This is a BBC series, set in England, and the majority of survivors here are naturally immune to the virus ( The Last Ship also has "immunes" who are not characters we care about!)  Each "season" was only six episodes long (there were two) ... it really just felt like one "season" as the next episode picked up right where the last had left off. I quite enjoyed this series! It did have enough of a conclusion that I was satisfied (although I don't think when it ended that was meant to be the end, it was cancelled). This was available on Netflix.

Colony was a post-apocalyptic show set in Los Angeles ... airing on USA. I recorded these with PlayOn as they aired (earlier this year) and then watched all the episodes together. Now I do have to wait for season two ... no virus here. It was aliens! It was interesting and exciting. I wonder if it will hit Netflix or Amazon before the second season starts up again? I don't always catch and record new programs as they air, and then you often can't access them (well, you can usually buy them, but I'm cheap).

I've watched a LOT of post-apocalyptic stuff ...

I really liked Jericho! It was interesting, on the DVD, there was an alternate, open ending for if the series had continued (rather than being cancelled after two seasons). Jeremiah was so dark and gritty (a world where all the adults have died leaving only children to fend for themselves) ... while I usually like to watch episodes back to back, get immersed in the "world" a series creates, I actually felt like I needed to take a break from this show, only watching an episode here or there. I'd caught the first season on DVD borrowed from my library, and the second was available on Amazon Prime. I LOVED Flash Forward. Absolutely intrigued by the idea behind it (at one moment, everyone on earth blacks out for a minute, and has a vision of a themselves at a certain point in the future). I've already talked about Revolution here on the blog, and Falling Skies and Wayward Pines ... so many different ways for the world to end, aren't there? And of course ZOMBIES ... ala The Walking Dead!

Book Notes ~ 2025

 

As I listen to an audiobook (my main method of absorbing stories for several years now) I'll try to stop and jot down things ... words, phrases, pronunciations, questions, items I will want to mention in my review on Goodreads when I finish.  I can't always stop (if I'm driving, or hands messy mixing sourdough), and other times instead of pulling up my NOTE I keep for this purpose, I'll turn to my computer and pull up the Kindle copy, making notes/highlights there. So while this list may not be completely complete, it's fun to me to see at a glance what I jotted down whilst listening throughout the year (reverse chronological order) ...

See my Book Notes 2024 and Book Notes 2023 too ... This is just the smallest peek at some thoughts on my reads - full rating/reviews for all on Goodreads and Storygraph. I'm JenBsBooks on both.

Bone Valley

Dais 

Secrets We Kept 

Molted our jackets 

Cerulean Dias (long I) 

Winter Solstice

Song sung 

Panacea halcyon caprice 

Assignation detritus archaic 

Abstemious sybaritic 

Life&Death&Giants

Frenetic swath snuck

Snow Falling on Cedars

Quite the back stories 

Espaliered  jury rigged 

Sex/penis descriptions 

Scrupulosity quiescent 

Once Upon a Midnight

Cravat (CRA-vet) foil-ige 

Kind eyes 

Firefly lane

Musical transitions- phone calls 

Mullioned windows  

Cranes fly

Female priest 

Sneaked 

Lost story  of Eva

Ablutions 

Sneaked ? 

Guardian and the Thief 

Carom 

Lapis lazuli cerulean  

billionaire- female

Pretending to Dance

Kitty corner 

Kudzu

Blind Your Ponies

Song spoken - man of lamancha 

Song sung - little town of Bethlehem 

Snuck sneaked 

Shackelton’s Arctic expedition 

Dean’s voice in audio (annoying) 

Frenetic carom 

Give the calf, beer truck backing, keep cooking 

Emma 3

I digress 

Bookclub for TroublesomeWomen

3rd person - I needed a header/ something more for pic switch. Whose head??

Mullioned windows  

Swath anathema frenetic 

Snuck deign 

Cracking wise

Chubby

Dissolution

Fugue (*Wordle word)

Chess 

The Maid

Skeletal …ska-Lee-tal (but not British)

25 Library Terrace

Careered  

Covid connection

Buckeye

Swath

Hoe-stas pronunciation (hostas plant) 

Wide berth 

Dress Shop

Swathes of fabric 

Ruffled sneaked 

Lapis blue cerulean 

Heart the Lover

1st person- present tense 

2nd (you’re) 

Tuberculosis 

Trust

Profit can correspond to public good 

Riffle  Narrative

Carnegie (standard pronunciation)

What My Bones Know 

Swath Fitbit fetid(*Wordle Word) 

Apropos of nothing 

Trying to find a therapist/match/insurance 

Table for 5

A-que-zatary accusatory 

Exploit-a-tive 

Heir Apparent P&P

Deign dearth 

Nursing babies

Night emissions - sex

Ch46/ confusion when Miss door died

James illegitimate, Mr Bennett steps up

Kitty had a twin - late pregnancy Mrs Bennett 

Mary- larger role

Cousin Anne letters 

The Cat I Never Named

Cacophony  

Sexual talk- mg? 

Heartwood

Covid connection 

Arcane cacophony surfeit  swath 

Solito

Song sung 

Old age is not for cowards 

Careless People

Deign 

Small Great Things

A bit repetitive - different POVs - different things revealed, but scenes/conversations repeat  

Wide berth narrative 

Shine (prequel) Frenetic 

Emma

Swaths denizen 

In this sign

Katty corner  fetid 

The nine

French?

Frenetic. Bucolic fetid 

Song sung - old lang sign (tune)

SkeLEETal

The Memory Collector’s

Spotify audiobooks … on Libby 

Fetid frenetic

Song sung 

Firekeepers Daughter

Pretty lie over an ugly truth

Death - past tense except for grief-present

Osmosis cacophony

“Call me Grant” 

Wisdom

Inaction is a powerful choice 

What Does it Feel Like

Song sung 

Bespoke 

A Gentleman in Moscow 

Lapis lazuli. Arcane quixotic penultimate 

Mirror salt

Dias  idiom. Axiomatic  paucity denizen 

Carnegie (general pronunciation) 

Resigned vs reconciled   Snuck 

Singing a song about a lack of bananas 

The studious reader will recall … 

Moon

1st person/present (except memories)- conversational, talk to reader 

Photogram 

Throw steak knives  pine cones close

Doesn’t make decisions- but doesn’t give a choice

Swathes of pink. Murmuration cacophony 

Collect words 

Fonts change words  

Lapis lazuli    Salt 

The Corespondent 

On Muscle

De rigueur   Nascent 

Not just lift heavy things- but lift myself 

Michael Angelo   Oliver Sacs Pop

Quotidian palimpsest 

The Will of the many

Cloak swathes her 

Swathes of the stadium 

Swathes of her life 

Snuck trireme fetid

Hate is its own violence 

After the End

3 narrators- 2 1st, L 3rd present tense all

So selfish … ch11 end

Swathes of fabric

Careers rifled fetid 

The Reformatory

Swathed in bandages 

Swath of the field 

Swath of the campus 

Song spoken - wade in the water 

Snuck cacophony 

The Book of Lost Hours 

Frenetic cacophony 

Familiar cage 

The Compound

Swaths of flame 

Detritus snuck 

When the Ground is Hard

Song subscribe- this little light  

The Names

Tops tell about a person

Covid 

We won’t all survive

Griffin Sisters

Bad TOC- hard to follow pov

Deign panoply hectoring snuck 

Song spoken 

It doesn’t matter. Nothing matters. 

Bury our Bones … 

Death is a freedom

Belief- easy when it’s the way you want 

Snuck patina 

Song spoken “found my way home” 

Midnight Bookshop

Present tense- 3 POVs 

Great Gatsby. Oliver Twist. One Flew …

ProFanity 

Brusque - broosk 

For all intents and purposes 

Istanbul or Constantinople 

Bookclub bring people together

First convo with new hubs (part6) -lots of “said” in memory 

The Book of Lost Friends

Osmosis idiom Carnegie 

Song sung “wade in the water” 

A Marriage at Sea

Swath penultimate 

Intro action - then repeated 

Whistling Past the Graveyard

Grounded - restriction

Snuck 

… until the devil served popsicles

… like a bullfrog in a pond

Hair pulling mad 

Catamount katty corner 

Light skinned colored or sun tanned white

You can’t use someone else’s bad behavior to excuse your own (end of ch14) 

… as nervous as a toad in front of a lawnmower 

Echo Man

My Cousin Rachel 

Bucolic 

Atmosphere

Authors note (audio author) /snuck 

JuliaWhelan 3rd person/present tense 

Cerulean cacophony 

Slayer

Tarts that pop 

October in the Earth

Don’t mind telling you (to reader)

Foreshadow- I was a good girl back then

Proper Christian woman 

Wacky cake 

Proper woman - kept my mouth shut 

Deign mischievous (3) cacophony 

Bellwether 

Swath of sand 

Michael without Apology

Fall back or no net 

The First Witch of Boston

Prologue spoiler 

Deign peridot 

The Best Part of Love P&P

Mischievous (4) 

Assignation 

Opine ablutions (abolitions) politic chagrined- Strange pronunciations 

The False Flat

Live for today 

Snuck 

Solar Fury

Sneaked 

Dare to refuse such a man P&P

Cacophonous deign equipag 

Horse- Puck 

Mischievous-3 

Shakespeare

With great wealth comes great responsibility 

Puma Years

Swath cacophony 

Steel house Lake

Careen 

Third Wheel

Audio repeat fast and furious territory 

Hokey cokey  cacophony 

Fine Mind P&P 

Allegedly

He who fights monsters

Lots of “said” 

Breath he didn’t know he was holding

Roil cacophony rifled 

Who Loves You Best

Snuck anathema careen accoutrements 

Chocolate babka 

A Tribute of Fire 

Dais  sneaked deign snuck 

Being Mrs Darcy P&P DNF 

Male narrator. 3rd person

Unlikeable Georgiana

Tom Romsly. FitzWilliam? 

Suddenly Mrs Darcy P&P

1st person- past tense 

Swath. Purloined 

Carriage x60 - Barouche 

Life

Sneaked 

Enamoured P&P 

Apropos of nothing

deign bilious x3

Vacuous. Panegyric 

Bridges (valet? “His man”) 

Bed in the Shed

2pov- first person (same narrator) 

Headers in audio- not book 

Britishisms- rota, catch-up 

Bespoke  career 

Connections - 

Falling For Mr Darcy

Valet - Rogers

Horse- Salazar 

Assignation 

Abscond

Mischievous (4) snuck 

Sisterhood 

Deign snuck anathema roiling 

Jane Austen  whirling dervish 

Sleep when I’m dead - no 

Brotherhood 

Modernity is the anachronism 

She seems … caffeinated 

It was Danica all over again … 

Enamoured - P&P

Apropos of nothing 

I Thought You Said This Would Work

1st person/past/ no profanity 

Swath

shaved head 

Kind eyes 

Utah mischievous (3)  

P&P- Audible original

On GoodReads? 

City of the Forgotten - Trackers#9

Mischievous (3syllable in audio) 

Deign dais snuck

So Material a Change- P&P 

Equipage carriage 

Sneaked perambulated

Whirling dervish  arms akimbo 

Theo of golden

Dandelion wine book

To kill a mockingbird

Quixotic scrum cacophony 

Read, bow, … Siri 

Ornithology 

The Wizard’s Butler

Snuck anathema perspicacious 

Mischievous (4 syllable in audio)

Wide berth 

One Lavender Ribbon 

Snuck 

Conundrums and Coincidences P&P

Curricle penultimate dais 

“Ghastly guidance you gave”

The Travels of Dr Rebecca Harper

1st person/present tense

Wrack and ruin 

Unrequited (unWreck-wu-Ted) 

Grayson 

Good Grief

Song sung 

Barbara - other book

This is real life, not a book 

Lover’s Knot p&p 

First person/ present tense/male narrator 

Ablutions phaeton 

The Naturalist

Arcane cerulean 

To name a thing is to know a thing 

Preternatural swath 

Sex- lgbtq 

Kiss Cam

Utah - delta center/jazz

Out of the water like Colin Firth at pemberly 

Wide berth snuck 

Kind eyes 

A Heart’s Secret P&P 

Swathed escritoire

Faded Photo

Christian fiction? God 

Snuck 

Love Unfeigned P&P 

Valet Brisby 

Scorpio

3rd person/present tense 

Narrow berth ;) 

Lots of profanity 

Audio- Rowt (route) young girl narrator 

Friends with Secrets 

Riffled bucolic atavistic 

Pemberly/MrDarcy 

Assignation cacophanous 

Mother/Nicoke’s worries about worst that might happen (funnies) 

“Indeed, it is I, aunt Nikki” 

Casement windows 

The LakeHouse at Ramsgate P&P

Deign cacophony plethora 

His side and sighed 

An Ocean Between Us

2 timelines. Present/Past tense 

Soporific 

Whirling dervish 

Body and Soul -P&P

HarryFrost (bought combo Audible) 

Ablutions dearth snuck 

Darcy horse - Horace 

The Garden of Memories 

3rd person / present tense 

Plethora cerulean deign anathema 

Rose/Flora/Sally (Daisy)

Brusque - Bruce-k (British)

Hedgerows 

Chapter 7 “rose imagines…” narrator clears throat and starts again. Editing error 

Boxes. Lighthouse. 

Drink driving 

I See You Called In Dead

Apropos of nothing 

For all intents and purposes 

Come From Away

Peripatetic 

The Elizabeth Papers

Slow(1.7) swallowing??  Sequel 

1st person and 3rd

Cress-seed-a

End - son named Bennet Darcy

Three Mothers

Roil swath plethora obstreperous frenetic 

… hears the ellipsis 

Wide berth 

British - French stick 

Swathing in heat 

Swathes of grief 

The Woman Who Met Herself

Ku text Hoopla audio

3rd person- present tense 

Against Every Expectation P&P 

Deign perspicacity 

Wide berth  Shakespeare mentioned 

Phaeton escritoire

Epilogue- Bennet Darcy, anne&CF, no Jane/Bingley  

Jeremy Renner- my next breath 

By Any Other Name

Kind eyes 

Dais swathes orthogonal 

Anachronistic 

for all intents and purposes 

Watching P&P by cats on YouTube

Let out breath didn’t know was holding 

Beswitched -P&P

The Warmth of her Affection- P&P

Supercilous   Deign  panegyrics

1 Curricle 27 carriage 

 There’s Something About Mira

We are our own prisons  

Kind eyes 

Snuck sneaked 

Most interesting man P&P

Bingley - buffoon  (homosexual thoughts about Darcy?) more sexual 

Plethora - two plethoras  careering 

Methuselah- Medusa - Hansel/gretel 

Cerulean cacophony ejaculation  purloined 

Robin

Quotidian frenetic panoply 

Versailles - audio ver-sales ?

Raison detre 

Carom

Fearful Symmetry - P&P

Ablutions sibilant purloined adage susurration hedgerow rifled 

Cacophonous perambulation perpecacity 

Valet-Roberts  Dog- Caesar 

Can’t trespass when welcome 

Shakespeare- comedy 

Deign 

Desk- escritoire 

Carriage, chaise and four, phaeton, Curricle 

Sawtooth Bookclub

Not want to say the prayer

Dated? 

Watch Longmire/song but no book names 

Hallmark!!

Disenchanted - P&P

Plethora deign 

Chaise and four 

Slanting Toward the Sea

Osmosis adage susurrus roiling careen 

Fuller my hands- emptier my head 

P2 ch25 walk bent as if been hit 

Home no less broken still together 

Hard in oneself in the dark 

Not having sex makes people more uncomfortable than having sex 

son - try harder 

Afraid of loss so much, do the cutting myself 

Infertility 

Chick pea soup - perfected 

Cicada- mate then die

Slanting light - title 

Hadley and Grace

3 narrators - accent 

Coach-Blue 

Cerulean 

GOLD eyes? And hair (jimmy) 

Monarch/Moon

Don’t make me turn this life around

Amy McFadden

Biennial nascent preternatural

Swath adage Aphorism frenetic

Exhaled breath hadn’t realized I was holding 

Abandoned at the Alter- P&P

Supercilious adage

Apropos of nothing 

For all intents and purposes 

Insult to injury? 

Variation

Sneaked snuck roiled 

anachronism 

Nicholas Sparksville (location)😂

More Than pretty Face -P&P

Jane’s voice low - not in narration 

Ablutions deign peridot

Equipage 

Some Other Time

3rd person/present tense. Detached 

Swathed peridot 

For all intents and purposes 

Love Never Fails - P&P

Plethora  supercilious 

Old Boys

Plethora deign snuck

Some Particular Evil - P&P

Deign rifling 

Not Curricle - fayton 

Valet- Barnes 

Every Precious and Fragile Thing

Chyron cerulean frenetic deign lapis 

Hectoring cacophony 

Title tie / ch3

Both 3rd and 1st person 

Breath she didn’t realize she was holding 

Kiefer -keFear 

A Case of Some Delicacy P&P

Several Povs (d&e … Lydia, Anne letters)

Confessions of a Grammar Queen 

Frank voice - a dog ;) 

Time- 60s? 

Kind eyes  wider berth 

cerulean nascent idiom snuck

Orthogonal 

Mauve- mOve 

Not a hot dog  - or burger or pizza

Women running -  

Dog storyline

The blues - mubbleFubbles 

From Pemberly to GG P&P

Harry Frost narrator- don’t like female voices

3rdpov but too many insights (d, e, Lydia, bingley, Jane, Mary 

Nincompoop  swathed 

Many epilogues!!

Hamnet 

Preternatural dais lapis cacophony 

Plague origin/fleas… Contagion 

Hollow Fires 

Aphorisms deign Chyron  rifled 

Age to rent a car 

The Art of Apology - P&P

Stevie Zimmerman 

Curricle

Mr Darcy coming off better …

Seabiscuit

Cacophony maxim forebears

Ostreperous as his sire 

For all intents and purposes  wide berth 

Roil scrum aphorisms halcyon careen 

Excoriation 

Done for the Best- P&P

Deign cacophony 

Curricle 

Ch33- that’s what she sayed 

The Secret Library of Hannah Reeves

Swath. Snuck bespoke idiom dais elegy 

Breath she hadn’t realized she was holding 

Luxury of Silence -P&P

Stevie Zimmerman

Breath didn’t know was holding x2

Deign roil Murmuration umbrage

For all intents and purposes x2

Turbid supercilious fecundity 

Rolling Toward Clear Skies

Kate Rudd

Scrum

Prophet Song 

Need audio- kindle blocks of text

A Most Excellent Understanding P&P

Preternatural ablutions 

Ducks - bread 

Bitter Mournings P&P

Dearth 

Audio- lady Catherine’s voice (yuck)

Adrift

Sneaked 

Audio- totoro, Tagalog 

Dog sounds in audio 

The Seven Sins of F Darcy- P&P 

Curricle swath akimbo 

Assignation ablutions 

Nincompoop supercilious 

Pennywithers- same author 

Ch11 ch24

Me w wastrel, Waggish w words 

Bachelor MrDarcy - P&P

Swath

Roadside Sisters 

Snuck 

Dogs vs cats 

Alice in Zombieland (A music borrow)

Snuck

iPod (music) 

The Zepher - P&P

1st person

Cacophony. Career(careen) 

Murmuration dearth cerulean 

“Make love” usage 

Our missing hearts 

Swathed rifles riffles 

Living rough 

Unfounded- P&P

Mr gardener “my wife allowed me…”

Anathema scant dearth surfeit

Swathed deign cerulean

Wide berth panacea mullion (windows)

Grave Talk

Tenterhooks  plethora nemesis scrum

Reception “icy”? 😂 

Covid 

The Poppy Fields

Swathes adage cacophony snuck 

Limbs akimbo nascent deign plethora 

Thruple katty corner brisket burnt ends 

Song spoken (imaginary/Dean’s song)

Sasha(Korean) hmart 

No Less Resentment P&P

Penultimate perfidious detritus Dias 

Seldom smirk accoutrements careen

Ch40 - refuse to be ruined 

If this were a novel- too much to believe

Nemesis perambulation 

Everyone in my Family … 

Skip the line (audio hoopla)

Separate bedrooms

Preternatural

Wide berth 

Memorial Day

Author narrated - past and present

Pellucid pogrom quotidian cacophony accoutrements yin/yang

Mullioned windows bucolic 

Kind eyes 

Covid 

Guncle Abroad

5 Love Languages

Lots of book/movie references

Deign panoply sneaked taupe idiom

Sequel - negate happy ending 

Adoring your partner reflect well on you 

The Pact 

Libby, not Kindle, but $2

Narrator fit? 

3rd person - slight struggle tracking changing povs (time switches too)

Sex- not steamy/spicy, overly explicit but more than some might be comfortable with // separate bedrooms 

For all intents and purposes 

Rictus dearth

The Slow March of Light

Note- Joseph b Worthlin quote 

Utah connection//lds- churchy 

Cacophony roil   wide berth

Taking to a new plateau 

*in an instant

Preternatural swathes roil rifle 

Kind eyes    Wide berth

Only bad under the circumstances ch72

Educated

Tumid 

Seldom swath obsolecense 

Felt poorly 

*The Guncle

… at least you weren’t married

Treatment by family - not included 

Nemesis thruple 

The Midnight School

Rifled surfeit propitious spurious 

Brung afeared halp 

Wide berth   Kind eyes 

Dais adage. Seldom 

 

One Golden Summer

Nerve-racking 

King of Ashes

Detritus deign plethora 

Reptilian Javier

Modernity paucity panoply cacophony 

H-Mart

Song spoken

Snuck

Saving CeeCee Honeycutt 

Same narrator as Secret Life of Bees 

Kind eyes. Hoopla

The Marriage Act 

Penultimate avuncular 

Snuck 

Apropos of nothing 

Midnight Children - DNF (too many ready holds, this was one Mom borrowed)

Conspicuously 

A fine Balance

Needs edit - disks announced 

Preternatural accouterments deign 

Ablutions peon pugnacious 

Wide berth 

Aphorisms maxim 

Somewhere Beyond the Sea

Gay-zay-bo - 18

Dais, cacophony, cerulean, ablutions 

Jengas Khan 

Riffled, ruffled

Wide berth 

The House in the Cerulean Sea

3rd person- Present … but didn’t notice 

Gay-zay-bo in audio 

Cacophony

Wide berth 

Gone Crazy in Alabama 

PS be 11

Lady Tan

Garden of fragrant delights 

Bedroom affairs -night sports 

3 precious things (male parts) 

Child palace (uterus)

Dias - pronounced die-us 

Horrible- midwife treatment (death better?)

All Thirteen

Does feel YA

You - to reader

3rd person/ Present tense 

Authors note - as a mother (male narrator)

Names - easier in print 

Ordinary Grace

sneaked preternatural seldom 

Carom

Epilogue.

Discussion questions/author interview

Seven o clock Club

Sing spoken 

Fireworks night 

The Push

Tense- 2nd, written account too husband(you). 1st person/past tense 

Snuck

My Friends

Snuck 

Kind eyes 

Song spoken 

Junie

3rd person/Present tense

Snuck. Rifled cerulean 

Aphorisms 

Slave - harder? Died or sold away? 

Up to Heaven

Seldom anathema 

Swath bucolic preternatural nascent 

Anodyne halcyon 

Reading before signing 

So many cancer warnings- ignore

Ministry of time

Franklin expedition

Lots of metaphors/simile 

Miscegenation anodyne 

route(root) brusque (br-oo-sk)

Perspicacity hectoring excoriation 

Cerulean quotidian cacophany 

Apropos of nothing // feeling poorly

Jury rigged plethora anachronism 

Idiom panoply 

God of bones and sinew 

Fx33 

Circus Train

Plethora bespoke accoutrements pogrom

Riffled scant career snuck

Nascent 

Cerulean 

In between bookstore

Cacophony careen 

Route (Rowt)

The Vanishing Act 

Snuck rifled roiling 

Violet eyes 

A flicker in the dark 

Math - always the same 

How To End a Love Story

3rd person but two narrators

Present tense 

Lots of he says/she says 

Family suicide chance increase - Program

Grant wants YOU to know ch23

65 mph, ALL the people, at 2:00 in the morning…

Shit-eating grin 

DandelionWine

Cupola 

Apropos of nothing  

Girls basketball - running into each other 

We All Live Here

Ablutions snuck Preternatural detritus

Apropos of nothing 

Dirty sally

Taffeta- audio t-feta

Katty corner 

Broken Country

Drink driving - just in audio 

Ma-can-ray 

Detritus 

Terupt -

Name pronunciation

Snuck 

Leisal &. po

3rd - but omniscient narrator I (reader) you

Ineffable 

ManiacMcgee

Grayson 

Snuck

City of Ember

3rd person - Dune and Lina

Dune-collecting/drawing worms/bugs 

Background noise/door opening (in book)

Unintelligible (per book) intercom 

Incomprehensible 

Mr Poppers Penguins 

Not graphic audio, but extras 

My Side of the Mountain

Wish authors preface had been author 

The gorge 

Trees exploding

Amy tan book- journal 

Walk two moons oops abridged!! 

Music/drums under narration (low)

2 stories 

Don’t like “Native American” 

Do you write about me? Journal 

Audio- lack TOC or even saying chapters (or headers). Music at chapters … I think 

Saving Zasha

Song sung 

Orphan Island

Roiling 

One Crazy Summer

Song sung 

Stuffed

Snuck 

I survived Titanic

Sneaked

Song sung 

Shackleton

Accents in audio 

Fantasy sleep 

Phantom Toolbooth

Author intro by author

Rowt cacophonous 

Puns/ alliteration

Watchdog, spelling bee, hum bug 

Jump TO conclusions 

Pony

Deign hectoring 

Authors note voiced by author 

Brown Girl Dreaming

Song spoken tingalay-o

Song sung - way down hollow tree 

Sweep

Song sung - sweep song, old lang sin

Onselecence Dias bespoke 

Saved by saving others 

Harry’s Mad

Ella Enchanted

Music at the start of chapters 

Swathed 

Song spoken (not real)

Part time Indian

Speed up to 2- author narrator 

Retarded

Stutter and lisp

One of me on page3 of pdf

Drawing 

Hunger/poverty 

Masterbation 

Iceberg

Snuck

CarNEG-ee

Books should be for everyone 

Repetitive - trust instincts 

Song sung- you take the high road 

I survived Childrens Blizzard

Snuck

Might as well be on the moon 

Reach for the Moon

Black/negro (dont use)

Forbearer 

Insignificant Events in the life of a Cactus

Cacophony 

Snuck 

SkyRaiders

Cacophony 

Homer Price- Mike f narrator 

Song spoken

Felt like a young/picture book  

Orphan of Ellis Island 

Song sung - home on the range 

Projekt 

Snuck rifled roiled 

Mighty Mo

MiddleGrade? Ebook only hoopla

Snuck

The German look …

Whirling dervish 

In which …

Hedgerow 

Let out the breathe I didn’t …

Song spoken

Out of my Heart

Swath 

13 1/2 Lives - Hoopla/no chapters 

Nadir deign arcane swathed caroom

Preternatural ablutions detritus sibilance 

All intents and purposes 

Vituperating

Ant-lantis?

Assignation hirsute apogee 

A Girl Limberlost

If as wealthy or poor would the reception be the same? Ch2

Sneaked 

If she’d been raised by the uncle/aunt

Prayer- hidden in own time 

Pete - take the money

Song spoken 

Could anyone play a violin without training?

Ejaculated (said) 

Freckles - no library kindle

Plethora

Amy Tans bird book 

Appropriate dress 

Being manly 

Mixing drinks - acid 

Let the Right one in

A little hard following pov shifts

3rd person/ past 

Snuck (sneaked too?)

Sexually explicit/

Witness- need to be part of the crime

Cat attack

House of my Mother

Haymond- Ruel and Tresa! 

Fight flight freeze fawn 

LDS

One and Only Bob

Danny Diveto - slow speed up

“Everything will be okay” - saying not knowing, does this teach kids not to trust? 

One and Only Ivan

Woman in the Library

Australian chocolate 

You Should Smile More

Snuck 

Elder Race 

Bespoke arcane 

The Paris Library

Swathed pogrom scrum sneaked 

Cacophonous deign rifle 

Animal groups -swallows/ravens 

Headers- pov not listed or narrated 

Tangled Up in You

Preternatural detritus cacophony

Book of Mormon 

Perseverating 

Magic Strings of Frankie Presto

Narration - reminiscent of Daisy Jones (interviews) and “death” Book Thief 

Full cast (aurora voice in main N) 

Cacophony 

Song sung - song spoken 

Save the Last Dance - back story 

The Apple Orchard

1st/past Tess/Dominic 

Peripatetic preternaturally 

Sneaked detritus swath 

Milkweed

Bad ear -love confession 

The Wise Man’s Fear

Panoply palimpsest Dias 

Swath susurrus snuck 

Song spoken :( 

Lute case ( sounds like suitcase)

Secret Life of Bees 

Sneaked snuck (not in kindle?) 

kudzu 

Song sung 

Imagine what’s never been 

The Sympathizer

Prostitutes/communism 

SEX/squid- obscene? 

Death by 1000 paper cuts 

Sleeper agent - insomnia 

Purloined deign kudzu bucolic preternatural palimpsest 

Descriptive before Major 

“Pursuit” of happiness 

Interview at end - needed two voices 

The Story She Left Behind

Snuck sneaked roiled swathed 

Hedgerows detritus 

Name of the Wind

Snuck careen deign rifling swath roil

Hedgerows ashen arcane 

Song - spoken 

Cloak - with pockets :) 

“This better not stain” - doing laundry 

Pikey talk (like Pitt in Snatch) 🤣

The Bean Trees 

Very conversational - 1st person/past 

LuAnn - 3rd person

Loooong pauses in audio 

Careened whirling dervish 

Esperanza Eh-stay-bon

Song sung   Route- root 

How to treat homeless

Depression is like cancer 

No window (Cooper)

Esperanza Rising

3rd person/ past tense

Song sung 

Cacophony careened 

Lilac Girls

1939

Caroline, Kasia, Herta 

Snuck bespoke scrum swath 

Coyote Lost and Found

Covid   ”fair” … lots of smile statements 

Boys of Biloxi - DNF

Sneaked 

Feels like nonfiction (might have stuck)

Wild Dark Shore

Rowan, Dominic, Fen, Orly (Raff)

Present tense r&d 1st person - 

Detritus cacophony 

Vera Wong 2

Deign 

Remarkable Journey Coyote Sunrise

Song spoken (ch17)

Books - Ivan, espenenza, ghost 

Snuck 

The Ice Cream Maker(physical)

Nonfiction?? 

Arcane 

Poppy War 

System is designed to keep poor and illiterate in their place 

Let out a breath didn’t know …

Riffling arcane cerulean swath deign cacophony careen 

Supernatural - what you don’t understand 

War thoughts - children with swords, training vs killing 

Field of Dreams P&P

Traditional- but also Darcy pov 

Plethora deign 

Ghost

Worstshire sauce 

The Woman They Could Not Silence

Lisp? S British accent (us) 

Anathema bespoke dearth snuck

Cacophony deign 

Book publishing - crowd funding 

Lone Women 

Love of my Afterlife

1st person/present tense

Careen rifling snuck 

VOCA - like “Out of my Mind” 

Between Two Kingdoms

Present tense …

Bucolic medieval detritus swath 

Rifled plethora 

Parasitology

Deign  

Court of Honey

Snuck dais katana rifled 

Cutting for Stone

Hedgerows ululations preternatural Baobab CookCountyHospital 

snuck apogee dais cacophonous 

Parsimonious  perchance pellucid 

Psychosomatic 

Cascade of catastrophes 

1 year marriage contract 

SLC Utah (tests sent there) 

Swarthy swathed 

Death is the cure for all disease

Mischievous (3)

Tell people about diagnosis?? 

Frank and Red 

Spotify

Pokémon sneaked rifled careen 

Falling/ skydiving w/o a parachute 

Song sung feed the birds 

Boo Radley 

Uprising

Feels ya

Missed yeta pov? 

Repetitive “understanding” what is said 

Swath sneaked Carnegie/standard pogrom rifling 

Pauses/click in audio 

Beasts …

Chirp? $3 why did I buy, library

1st person// past tense 

Carnegie swath cerulean 

Memory Keeper’s Daughter

Swathed detritus

Whose pov?

Carnegie 

A Thousand Splendid Suns

Swath 

P&P&Z

Katana deign 

Song sung 

Handle With Care 

Story TO “you”

Cacophony hearth detritus swath 

Marion’s story? 

Help - call insurance did them (nope)

Sneaked 

DUI Cutting 

Divinity - hardball 

Abortion restrictions? 

Traitors son

Arcane deign 

A girl with a knife

She is careful w/letters- Matilda not 

Ch8 

Respiratory - res-pritory 

Wrapped in Rain

Swathed route(Rowt) snuck plethora 

Best you switch lenses 

Tell you if you’re going to hurt someone ch45

Music of Bees

Careened brindled swath riffled scrum

Song “make me a channel of your peace”

Long Walk

Swathed route(root) 

Dear Sugar 

Atomic Habits

Proactively lazy - make it easy 

Forgotten Garden

3rd person Past tense 

Music between chapters 

Riffled sneaked perspicacity infrangible 

Roiling dearth sibilant 

Mullioned windows 

Song sung

Razorblade

Cacophony hedgerow hersuite swathe 

Grayson panoply detritus 

3rd person Past tense 

So many similes 

Eddie

Snuck cacophony senectody dais 

Covid - 2020 like 1950s

How high

Need more division in audio 

Snuck riffling rifling 

Goodnight mr Tom 

Workd went Silent

Cacophony 

Snuck 

Chinese Groove

Gangly tangly

Career (careen) somniferous 

Resentment curdles contentment 

Lots of little rhymes (ilk/bilk) 

Makers mark (Sam’s club) 

Every Breath

Author intro - his voice? Maybe better after? 

Seldom

Novels by Smith - Botswana 

Biltmore Christmas 

Route (root)

Roiled 

Calling me Home

Complimentary bangs trim 

Crossword puzzle words 

JCPenny, Walgreens, StateFarm 

Detritus 

One sex pregnancy - loss

17 year old marriage 

Long pause before ch38

Katty corner 

Concussion

Carnegie (main) 

Sneaked hoopla 

Orphan train

Preternatural riffling 

Apropos of nothing 

Cashe (cashay) 

Call if the Penguin

• brought to you by Penguin 

Dearth plethora ablutions route(root)

Prstiferioys peniltamute 

The Orphan Keeper

Swath 

Song spoken 

The #1 ladies detective agency

Ululations

Fat lady 

The orphans tale

Route (root)

Panoply 

Young and un afraid 

Music at start/end awful

Why title? 

Gleanings

Cerulean bucolic purloined

The Toll

Gender fluidity 

Despair dialed down to melancholy 

Short people - no reason to live 

No soup for you 

Bucolic 

March

Several words I should highlight CXpc

Slavery

Stationary Shop

Cacophony 

Ablutions 

God of the Woods

Purloined 

Ornithology 

Quotidian 

Sipsworth

Third person/ present - even memories

Gossip of pidgins 

Wolf Trap

Ciron 

Wish you were here

Merlot - merlet 

Sourdough starter 

Other doctor

Arcane 

Not fear of death, fear of suffering

Euthanasia- wish for people 

Yin Yang - yung? 

Wild Robot

Listener … 

Reasons to Stay Alive

Is he an expert … just his thoughts

Could care less

Another life -midnight library 

The woman who ran away …

Career(careen)

Thunderhead

Greyson

Cacophony 

Valet (pronounced with t)

Scythe in robes on waverunner 

Out of order? 

Turn up metabolism 

One for the money

The channel changer …

Dated. Car phone, etc

Hamilton

Elizabeth Betsy Eliza Skyler

Loathing cacophony Dias hector loath brusque  Manumission bucolic 

Afterward - after sex 

… the last to know. Not consulted - told 

Don Quixote - tilting at windmills 

Funny Norman foreman

Penzance

Narrator Jen (needed boy for n parts)

Deign root 

Sunflower House

Careen pogrom loathing 

Song sung (silent night)

Brilliant night

Root(route) cacophony bespoke deign purloined 

Song sung - abide with me

Spoon Stealer

Talking dog 

Route (root) rifling brusque snuck careen 

Story within a story 

Smoke his fags 

Narration- cute voices for Vera(dog) and Harriet (slight lisp)

Boys of Riverside

Covid. Rowt  snuck scrum rout 

P words (prevaricate) prescience peripatetic pyrrhic 

Home of the huddle 

Finally trash talk 

Book of Doors

Susurration Detritus career(careen) 

Book of memory- dementia patient/ brought her back, but then had to take the book back 

The Wedding People

Snuck

Whitman- death

3rd person- present and past 

Covid 

Home for Unwanted Girls

Familiar narrator

Carnegie (usual pronunciation) 

Borrowed Life of Fredrick 

Cacophony