2025/Q2 ~ April, May, June

Well, in non-blogger life, it's almost the end of the third quarter, into September. I guess I should update my Quarterly Review for April, May and June ... as illustrated by the weight graph, things didn't go well.

After some success at the end of 2024 and the start of 2025 (down 15+ pounds), this quarter was all uphill. Oops. It's the eating. I kept up the activity okay, but slipped on both IMF and MFP as is unfortunately amply illustrated in the graphs below ...

Obviously, the "average" isn't correct, if I wasn't counting calories for many days in May, and most of June. If I HAD recorded ... I'm not sure I want to know how high those averages might go! A bit of just giving up, and some self-sabotage.  I did not have a 29  hour fast in May (no full/24+ fast this quarter), I was struggling to keep current in my app tracking and didn't get that corrected, and gave up on MFP and IMF a week or so into June ...

Sleep stuff ...

Snoring does seem tied to weight ... tied to 190 in fact.

...as for daily life (LifeCycle)

For this quarter, I tried to manually add my treadmill and elliptical time (and any weight workouts, I got in ... one, in April). They don't automatically register, as they are in the home gym. It's just interesting for me to see how they stack up to my Zumba and Pickleball. Pickleball has increased with the warmer weather ... playing on the weekends with family in addition to the Thursday Ladies pickleball. 

Blackham Bunch - 2025/Q2

... and of course, #JenBsBooks

Per usual, the quarterly What I Was Watching has its own post. 

2025/Q2 ~ What I Was Watching (April/May/June)

What I Was Watching

April/May/June ~ 2025 (Q2)

I never just sit and watch TV/Movies ... either I'm in the gym, with a show on while I workout (some are more motivating than others) or it's "TV Together Time" with Hubs. Both have been a little lacking this last quarter. I just haven't been making it down to the gym as much (still struggling with plantar fasciitis in my right foot).  During this quarter we added Paramount+ for a bit, as well as a 3-month AppleTV deal.   More series than movies ...

• Shrinking (S2): I was glad to get back to this series, I'd really enjoyed the first season. Watched with Hubs, I think I liked it more than he did. 
• No Good Deed: I saw some buzz about this, and Hubs and I watched it and enjoyed it. 
• White Lotus (S3): We'd watched the first two seasons together, so we'd been watching for the third season to fall. 
• Loudermilk: Hubs brought this one, and we watched all four seasons.
• Landman: Hubs was watching Yellowstone (I'd watched the first season and had no interest in watching more, so he was watching that on his own during his workouts) but this is by the same director. On Paramount+ ... Hubs watched this on his own, then I watched it too (during workouts).  I actually liked this/interesting.
• The Pitt: I've always enjoyed ER/medical dramas. This was good. 
• Zero Day: Another "parallel" watch with Hubs. Watched around the same time, but while working out individually. 
• Why Women Kill: I'd heard quite a bit of buzz about this one, and I liked this. I've heard that the first season was the best, so I'm not planning on continuing. 
• Four Seasons: A little "ouch" in watching this, just some of the heartache. 
• Dark Matter: I'd read and enjoyed this book, and had this on my list for the next time we had AppleTV. I thought they did a really good job with the adaptation. 
• Disclaimer: This was too graphic for me, I didn't really like it ... but at one point the main character "made the weekly call to her mother" and that just clicked something. Since watching this show, I too have been making a weekly call to my mother. 
• Your Friends and Neighbors: Entertaining enough to watch while working out.
• Murderbot: I had read the book, and hadn't really liked it ... but I liked the series.
• Presumed Innocent: I'm positive I saw the original movie at some point, but it was long enough ago that I didn't remember the storyline/twists (and this changed things some). This kept my interest, had some "ouch" moments. 
• Stick: I really enjoyed this, even though I'm not interested in golf. It was dropping episodes, so I had to wait a bit (and the final ones actually came out in July, but I'm including it in Q2).
• Others: Hubs and I (on my recommendation) started For All Mankind. I'd watched S1-S3 previously, so a rewatch for me on those. There is a S4 now. I think we got through S1 during Q2 and are continuing on. Hubs is giving it a thumbs up.  We tried Beef (Hubs recommendation) but I didn't like it, so we didn't continue. I watched the first episode of Smoke ... it just started dropping, I'm not sure I'll continue with it, we'll see. 

• The Gorge: The one movie Hubs and I watched together this quarter. #1 son had said he really liked this. It was "ehh" for me. 
• Mickey17: I'd read the book, and was looking forward to the film adaptation. I thought it was pretty good, although the leader characters were over the top (were they that bad in the book? I can't remember). Fun premise. 
• Little Man Tate: Saw a little reel, and it caught my interest enough that I looked up this film. I enjoyed it. 

I try to keep a record of what I'm watching on IMDB, but these posts here on the blog are actually the best way for me to remember what I was watching and when ... and that was Q2/2025. 

2025/Q1 ~ January, February & March

 

Well, some scale success, although still a ways to go. Hit the quarterly low (184.9) in March, but also ended higher than the previous month's average. January 1st weight was 196.9 and the final weigh-in for March was 191. As I mentioned in my previous quarterly report, there was something about Daylight Savings (Nov3, 2024) that seemed to help get me into gear. Here ... Daylight Savings ended March 9, and I feel like right at that reset I started to struggle. Is there something about that schedule? Is it psychosomatic? 

I have another app (Goal Streaks) which I use to manually mark some personal points ... I had a 10k/20k/30k tracker going ... I added 15k, just to give me that little extra push to hit that middle ground. I didn't quite get to a 15k average, but the steps overall are higher than they have been in a while.  

It was basketball season January/February and I'd walk while watching my youngest playing (in Oregon/Clackamas, NWAC Stream) most Wednesday and Saturday nights, getting about five miles in each game. I have been having some foot pain. Nothing officially diagnosed, but my symptoms are textbook for plantar fasciitis. Just my right foot. I think I felt the first twinges back in November. I've added insoles, and stopped going barefoot around the house (which I've done for 50+ years, I hate shoes!) Tried some ice and stretching. It's definitely something I can push through ... I still got in my Zumba and pickleball. The pain has extreme swings. While it's always there, sometimes it's slight ... other times I can barely walk. Beyond the physical, there's been a bit of an emotional discouragement with this foot pain that has definitely gotten worse the longer it goes on.  

Daily burn estimates per Fitbit ...

No graph for weight workouts ... 

I got in nine for the quarter. Three each month. 

While I'm not good at weighing and measuring, I did keep up my MFP entries all three months. I feel like I did a decent job of keeping calories in check for the most part, but definitely need to work harder on both quantity and quality of calories. A few uber over days. One full fast (24+ hours) each month. 

I've been using two apps to track fasting ... Fast Habit and Easy Fast (pictured below).

I need to remember to grab a screen shot of FH at the end of each month.

Overall, the fasting hours haven't been too hard to keep, and the set eating hours are a help in keeping me from mindless eating, which I would probably do otherwise. Some family activities impact the eating (hours and calories) ... Superbowl Sunday, #2's Birthday, Valentine's Day, a family bash while #5 was in town for Spring Break. 

... a six month scale view (TrendWeight) and 90-day fasting/weight via Fast Habit.

Interesting to note the scale drop after a big fast - although it doesn't stick. 

A look at Lifecycle ... I wish it could track HOME activities more (it could if I went to the effort of entering them manually). There was a LOT of basketball Jan/Feb, but it only shows the ones away from home (#2's Men's League games). Zumba. Pickleball ... the weather was nice enough in March that we were able to get in outdoor pickle with the family. 

Lots of sleep data ... Zzzzzz

My "snore score" has dropped - I've always figured there was a correlation to weight (that was actually the impetus for my scale success back in 2020).  I don't know that I always trust the tracker (I've sometimes set up a couple of devices right next to each other, got very varied results) but this is the data I gathered ... 

Different devices ... similar, but slightly different data results. 

My alarm IS set for 7:50. I rarely hear it (turning it off before it sounds). 

More from Oura ...

Family Stuff - January/February/March

Not a lot of snow this winter. Lots of basketball. Three new trucks for the family! Ping pong, pickleball and piano, as well as the usual Zumba and treadmill time. A little elliptical. Hubs did his first half-marathon for the year. He's been doing lots of training. Bike, runs, even some swim (triathlon planned). 75Hard. Birthday. Superbowl. Valentine's Day. A guys trip to Vegas/IBS. 

BOOKS!

... and the quarterly "What I Was Watching" on its own post.

What I Was Watching ~ 2025/Q1

 It was college basketball season January/February, and my youngest had games twice a week, which I'd catch on the NWAC Sports Network. I'd walk while watching ... helps keep my anxiety at bay, and I'd get in four+ miles during his games. On non-game days, I watched TV series and movies, and Hubs and I got in some shows together before bed. Here's what I was watching...

• Younger: I thought this was a new show, but it started in 2015 and had seven seasons! I got hooked and ended up watching all of them. I love books, and the peek into publishing was fun (even if it isn't all that accurate). 
• Arcane: My son(s) suggested I watch this. I'm not big into anime, but I liked it. Watched both seasons. 
• A.P. Bio: Hubs picked this one, when we needed something light and easy (and short). It started off pretty silly, and then ... went off the rails! I guess it was cancelled, then picked up again. The last two seasons were crazy. The image shows Season1, but we watched all four. I was glad to be done though. 
• Workin' Moms: Watched season 2.
• Detectorists: Heard some good things, enough to check out the DVD from the library. It was okay. Finished season 1, I don't think I'll continue. 
• American Primeval: Watched this with Hubs. I didn't really care for it.
• Running Point: Just a silly, lighter one. Basketball, some "Succession" vibes ;) 
• Squid Game: I'd already watched S1 some time ago, Hubs and I watched it together (his first time) so now I'm refreshed and can watch S2 ... if I want.

• Wicked: I'd seen the touring play and really liked the music. I was excited for the movie, to have subtitles and be able to catch all the words! I thought it was well done. Actually watched it twice, once downstairs in the gym, then once with Hubs.
• The Descendants: Watched upstairs with Hubs. It was okay.
• IF: I didn't really care for this one, just silly, showcasing a lot of well-known actor's voices. 
• Conclave: Hubs watched this while he was working out ... I gave it a go too. I didn't really care for it. 
• Fall Guy: Another that Hubs and I watched separately. We both really liked this one though!
• The Big Short: Repeat, for both Hubs and I (watched separately). A good one.
• Sing Street: Kind of cute, but ultimately not that memorable.  Accents. 
• Fly Me To The Moon: Xfinity offered a week of access to Apple+ ... this looked interesting. It was good. 
• Adrift: I liked this one.
• Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: A rewatch for me. I'd read the book recently. Had to borrow the DVD from the library, as it wasn't streaming on any of our services.
• Kinda Pregnant: Not great, honestly a little embarrassed to say I watched it ;) 
• Quite Place Day One: I'd like the first two Quiet Place movies. I didn't really like this one though. 

What will I watch during April/May/June? Stay tuned ...

Word Cloud Header

On my Facebook page, I'd had a graph of weight through the years for my banner image ... but it was pretty out of date. While I do still weigh in daily, I don't input my stats in excel, which is where I'd created that graph. As my scale stuff has been less than successful for several years, I figured I'd update the cover photo to represent all my interests.  I found a site to create Word Clouds (wordcloud.com) and typed up a list and  ...

#JenBsBooks ~ 2024 Reading Recap

 

Another year in the books ... my highest yet. I don't set a reading goal per se, I just enjoy books. I do TRY to get in a couple non-fiction each month, switch up genres and topics. Popular and obscure. Various lengths. While I am dominantly audio, I get the ebook also for 95% of my listens. I like having the text for reference, and to see if there's anything (author's notes, discussion questions, pictures, setup) that isn't available or or doesn't translate to audio.  I do try to read a little (with my eyes) as well. 

45 of my books on Goodreads got a 5* rating from me (fewer on Storygraph, as they allow half/quarter stars). The ratio of ratings looks quite similar to last few years. Mostly 3 and 4*, with a few 2* and at least one 1* ... I'm not afraid to DNF (did not finish) either ... so many books, so little time!

The Storygraph stats are slightly different ... showing 300 books (to GoodReads 307).  I guess Goodreads went ahead and put the DNF books (unrated in the chart above) in the total, when Storygraph did not. Honestly, I'm not sure which I feel is "correct" or which I prefer. Storygraph actually indicated I had 10 books that I started but didn't finish. 

It's interesting to compare the starts from year to year (I just started Storygraph last year/2023) ... the Mood Map is very similar, the pie charts for fiction/non-fiction, page# and format look almost the same. I like to track WHERE I got the books (library, KU, Audible, etc), and then a few other items.

 

Some additional Storygraph Stats ...

• Average length of books was 326 pages
• 24 5* reads
• May had the highest average rating (3.91)
• December had the lowest average rating (3.17)
• August had the most pages read (10057)
• New authors ... 196
• 86 books part of a series 
• 7 books were re-reads
• 10 books were DNF

Other 2024 book memories ...

• Continued on with two local book clubs, only missed one month 
• Had Audible, cancelled Audible, joined again when they had a sale, cancelled again, joined again. Have MORE than enough in my library (in addition to using the actual library) but ... deals! Sales! I don't use the PLUS catalog that often, but I like having access ;)
• Grabbed a KU deal (3 months free), then paid for one month(December).
• Did a few "tandem" reads with Hubs
• Book Notes - as I listen to audio, if there is something ... one of the words I track, a thought I want to highlight/remember, etc ... I'll pull up the NOTES app on my phone and jot it down (if I'm able to stop quickly to do it, not always possible, if I have more time/I'm home, I might pull up the Kindle copy and make the note there instead). I try to remember to check my notes when writing up a review (sometimes also adding the notes into the Kindle copy). But I thought I'd transfer my notes here for reference too, a quick reflective look at the year. 2024BookNotes. 
• Added a Little Free Library in front of the house. I HAD switched almost entirely to digital (audio and ebook) but now love shopping library and thrift stores for books. Had to buy some more bookshelves for storage, and love frequenting other LFLs. It's affected how I pick what to read next (if I have a physical copy, it gets moved up my TBR, even if I still go with the audio). 
• Room re-arrange at home, so we now have a little book nook/library ... book shelves, a comfy chair and lamp.

I continued to create my "cover collage" each month ... I would share those on Facebook and I created a compilation of them for the family blog (JenBsBooks ~ 2024). Here's a look from Storygraph ... it's fun to just look back over the covers, see which ones I really remember. 

What I Was Watching Q4 ~ October, November, December

 Movies and TV series ... they keep me entertained and motivated when down in the gym, walking on the treadmill or hitting the elliptical. A good show can make the difference in me getting more time in. I don't really ever just sit and watch a show, except with Hubs as a wind-down from the day.  Here's what I was watching during the last three months of 2024.

Starting with shows ...

Upstairs, with Hubs, we started The Good Place and went through all four seasons. It was a light/fun (and short, when Hubs would only last 20minutes before falling asleep) and super enjoyable. I'd caught a few glimpses of some episodes, as #1 son had come and watched some during lunch breaks in years past, but not enough to have spoiled it for me. 

Down in the gym, I really struggled to connect with a series that kept my attention. I was happy when I found another Kristen Bell show, and enjoyed Nobody Wants This. I'd read Black Cake a while back, and didn't love it, so I was pleasantly surprised by the series. I'm a sourdough gal, so I checked out World Eats Bread. Fleabag was different ... Workin Moms, I finished the first season and will continue on. 

I was more into movies this quarter ...

Only a couple of movies with Hubs ... the top/left: Rebel Ridge and Focus. We started Furiosa, but it wasn't clicking. I finished it downstairs. The top/right three were ones my #3 son recommended. The others I watched while walking. I did not care for "And So It Goes" but the rest were easy entertainment.

... after Thanksgiving was over, I went ahead and indulged in some "Christmas Movies" ...

Now, Carry-On is a "Christmas Movie" the same way Die-Hard is. It's set at Christmas, but it's action/thriller. It was decent. Red One ... um, dumb. That Christmas was cute! The other were your basic "Hallmark" Christmas movies (even though only one technically had that label). 

That wraps up 2024!

Q4 ~ October, November, December

 

I had success in the final quarter of the year back in 2020 ... I was hoping to try again this year. October pretty much continued per usual, but there was something about the Daylight Savings time switch (Nov3) that seemed to snap me into gear. I got back to counting calories on MFP and fasting/IMF and have seen some success on the scale. Had some stuff going on in November, and caught Covid (again) at the end of December (can be seen more in the sleep section than the steps). 

I didn't count calories in October, but counted consistently for Nov/Dec.

Kept calories in control for the most part, a couple uber over days.

My first FULL fast (24+ hours) ... no calorie days.

Playing around with different fasting apps ... I had paid for an annual subscription to Window (left/November) but my subscription was up for renewal, and the price had more than doubled ($90 annually! No thanks!) I like FastHabit (free/right 90day graph), but also found Easy Fast for the monthly calendar look (middle/December, started it mid month). 

Fell off the fasting at the end of December with the holidays and being sick.

A look at Lifecycle ... copied in the day to day calendar as well as the monthly report. 

Yes, I'm a homebody.

... had some strange sleep schedules at the end of December (Covid time). 

My Oura Ring tracks sleep (I think that is the info passed on to AppleHealth for the graph above). Fitbit tracks sleep as well (below//duration and schedule charts).  Interesting to note the similarities and differences. Once upon a time, I thought I was an "early to bed early to rise" girl ...

Oura gave a quarterly report on sleep ... Interesting to see the different graphs

... I was switching out the phone I track my snore score, and trying some multiple devices with results being quite varied. I don't think October was as low as it looks, that phone just wasn't really recording correctly. I switched to a different device for Nov/Dec. Snore score has gone down. A few nights in November where I was on Ambien (which consistently ups the score). Super surprising how low it dropped while I had Covid (in 2022, that is when it soared!)

One more set of Oura info for the quarter ...

Family Stuff~ October/November/December

October still had some outdoor activities; pickleball, races, hikes. Halloween. Thanksgiving. Christmas. Birthdays. Leg Lamp Lighting. Light snow. HUGE Santa. Spotify Unwrapped and music stats obsession. Sick (two boys and Hubs before I got it). Clackamas visit (which I had to sit out due to Covid). 

I'll get up a separate "What I Was Watching" post ...

Here's what I was reading.