Weekly Weigh-In #166

Weird Week. While it wasn't awful, it wasn't particularly good either, yet ... hello 160s. Just barely, but it's nice to see again. Never thought I'd say the 160s were good to get to, but then I never planned on moving up to the 170s again dang it! The weekend was BAD, and I expected a big bump up by Monday. But it didn't happen. Great Monday, reflected in a scale shift. Unexplained up again after Tuesday, but then a slight shift for weigh-in, even with a horrible high the night before. 

NUMBERS: Official weigh in was down. -2.5 pounds! What? Okay/Yea. Average weight went down slightly (-.24 to 171.93). Other numbers really weren't good. Average in 2521. Average burn 2810. I was actually over this week (+125), although not by much. Step average was 21249. 35min of weights, 806 cardio minutes, 86.62 exercise miles. FOOD: A couple bad (over 3000) days, only one day under 2000. My homemade breadsticks, scones and cinnamon rolls happened on high days. FITNESS: Five days with an hour (or more, I've been hitting 80min regularly) of elliptical, Zumba just four days this week, three days for a bike session, one time on the treadmill, and just one weights session. FAMILY: Kids out of school a couple days for PT Conferences. No basketball games during the week, but plenty of practices. Daddy had a derby.

Quick week recap:

• Friday (0923): Calories in 3200. Daily Burn 2712. Bad day. Up early and dragging. #4 out of school, but I still skipped Zumba. Got in my 80minElliptical. Didn't feel motivated enough for weights. Made soup and breadsticks.
• Saturday (0924): Calories in 2700. Daily Burn 2446. Basketball day (three games) but I managed two 20min sessions on the elliptical. 
• Sunday (0925): Calories in 2400. Daily Burn 2391. Rest day. No Exercise. I did get in a nap. Big family breakfast in the morning, and splurge on Hubby's popcorn in the evening.
• Monday (0926): Calories in 1650. Daily Burn 3380. Zumba with Southziders, 80minElliptical, bike and mowed the lawn. Good day for fitness, and also for food. Kept calories in check!
• Tuesday (0927): Calories in 2400. Daily Burn 3206. Zumba with Marian, 80minElliptical and I did weights. Should have gotten a bit more in. Soup and breadsticks again, and basketball practice and some shopping.
• Wednesday (0928): Calories in 2200. Daily Burn 3263. Zumba with MZL, 80minElliptical, two miles on the treadmill, and a session on the bike. Felt like a good day, although I couldn't quite keep calories under 2000 goal.
• Thursday (0929): Calories in 3100. Daily Burn 3071. Zumba with MountainView, 80minElliptical and a session on the bike. Not a good day though, dragging and I couldn't stop eating! Uber over.

Normally I feature five photos ... but I didn't take enough this week!

I did have to stop my own stretching cool down to snap a picture of this cuteness at Zumba!

 ... and in the middle of all the horrid political posts (seriously, I can hardly stand to scroll Facebook right now, it's all so ugly and discouraging) I found this sign. No, I'm not a big Batman fan, but my Hubby's name is Grayson Wayne. I guess HIS parents were. I found it funny *Ü*

Nike, Namebrands ... and Laundry

My boys NEED Nike. Occasionally Under Armor will do, but Nike is the brand of choice. From their basketball shoes, to socks, to t-shirts. Even underwear (compression shorts). NIKE. 

Me? I don't care about name brands at all. True, I have a Nike hat. I'd picked up a cheap K-mart cap ($3) but it was cotton. The Nike hat uses dri-fit and that makes a difference. I'll admit, I don't mind the cute swoosh. 

I can't quite commit to spending a lot on shirts though, even for fancy fabric. I know cotton t-shirts aren't the best for working out (friction rash) but at $3 each, versus $10-$20 ... when I go through several a day (as I tend to get in several workouts a day) ... I make do with the cheap cotton.

When I was at the thrift store, I saw a Nike top ... it was my magic price ($3) so I picked it up. I honestly can't tell that much (if any) difference when I wear it. But it's got that swoosh.

I have a problem though.

Because I'm not used to having Nike myself, when I do the wash and fold the laundry ... I sometimes mistakenly put the shirt in Hubby's pile. The first time, he pulled it out and said "this isn't mine" and I realized my error (he didn't think it was mine either, assumed it belonged to one of the boys). The next time, he just placed hung it on the towel rod by my sink. I wonder how long it will take me to remember that I actually own one piece of Nike workout wear coming through the wash?

But you know, things sometimes get mixed up in the wash. I have all the boys keep their own individual dirty clothes hamper, and I wash each of their loads separately. It's just too hard to try and remember which clothes go with which kid if they are mixed up. 

I still wash Hubs and my clothes together ... other than the ol Nike shirt in question, it's pretty easy to keep our stuff separate. Okay, occasionally one of my socks gets tossed into his sock pile, and even more rare, my underwear ends up mixed in with his briefs... I'm trying to work quickly, sometimes they are tangled together. It happens.

What does Hubby do when that happens?

HE PUTS THEM ON (my underwear).

AND PARADES AROUND.

"Oh, are these mine now? I assumed because you put them in my pile that you wanted me to wear them. No?"

It's painful. It hurts my eyes. I really try not to laugh, because that only encourages him.  

TMI?

At least I don't have pictures (believe me, it's seared in my memory).

That's it for this episode of "What I'm Wearing Wednesday".

Weekly Weigh-In #165

Another weekly weigh-in. Another up. Another week in the 170s. Dang it. Not a great week, not a bad week. Just one of those average weeks. NUMBERS: Official weight up .6, average down a smidge (-.3 to 172.17). Average Intake was 2450. Average daily burn 2926. There was a tiny deficit for the week (-470) according to the numbers (as you can see the scale didn't agree). Step average 21819. 80min with weights, 895 cardio minutes, 69.73 exercise miles. FOOD: Hubs made big yummy dinners Sat/Sun, and treat temptations were candy corn, salted caramels (both containers are gone now. DO NOT BUY/OPEN MORE) and ice cream was calling. Stayed under 2000 two days, topped 3000 one day. FITNESS: Zumba and hour of elliptical five days, two sessions of weights, two treadmill, one bike. Over 3000 burn five days, one 30k day. 

Here's a quick daily recap ...

• Friday (0916): Intake 1950. Burn 2595. Hour of elliptical, mile walk on the treadmill and mowed the lawn. Quite a bit of time in the car running kids around.
• Saturday (0917): Intake 2200. Burn 2310. Hit Teresa's Zumba class first thing in the morning, but that was all for exercise. Three basketball games (all for #5) kept the day busy. 
• Sunday (0918): Intake 2500. Burn 1974. Rest day. I did do 10min on the WiiFit. Sunday Circles in the morning, steak dinner in the evening. Over on calories.
• Monday (0919): Intake 1950. Burn 3797. BIG day! 90min elliptical, Zumba with Southziders, 2.5miles on the treadmill, and a session on the bike. Ping pong too :) Bowling for the boys in the evening. Really tried (and was successful) in keeping calories in check.
• Tuesday (0920): Intake 2800. Burn 3151. 80minElliptical, Zumba with Marian and a full body weights session. A little puppy play time, and basketball practice for #5.
• Wednesday (0921): Intake 1900. Burn 3130; Really tried hard to keep calories under control today. 80minElliptical, Zumba with MZL and mowed the lawn.
• Thursday (0922): Intake 3000. Burn 3065. Had been keeping calories in check until the late evening when boom, stupid decisions. 90minElliptical and Zumba with MountainView was the exercise for the day. Stormy weather! Hubs had a derby, and the older boys had Skyridge games.

 Five Featured Photos ...

 Oh no ... someone threw away our perfectly good kitty cat.

 Bowling boys with Aunt Olivia

A little puppy playtime (the neighbor's doggy)

Stormy Skies! There were TWO TORNADOES that touched down! Not in our immediate area, but tornadoes in Utah are almost unheard of (one other happened about 10 years ago). Tornadoes are a trigger for my son's weather phobia, but he did amazingly well during the storm (he even left the house and did the derby with Daddy!) Just a few years ago he could have been crying and cowering in a corner in the basement.

... and we finally got a "handle" on our potty problem. The little lever had broken, so to flush, we'd have to reach into the tank and pull it manually. SO happy to have a handy hubby who can fix things!

Stranger Things

Have you seen Stranger Things? It's one of the new Netflix originals that has received quite a bit of buzz. I'd heard good things about it, and had it on my "to watch" list ... but that list IS a mile long. A co-worker recommended it to Hubs, so under his initiation, we started watching. 

I was hooked (Hubs liked it too, even though it was a bit more up my alley). 

Set in the 80s, it also had similarities to several 80s films. ET, Goonies, Stand by Me. At one point I even whispered "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" to Hubs (he laughed). Ah.. that 80s hair and dress, sometimes it's a little hard for me to handle now!

Other than Winona Ryder and Matthew Modine, I hadn't seen any of the actors in anything else. 

Watching with Hubs, this was our "episode an evening" as we wound down before bed. I would have been a great one for me to watch while working out, lots of action and excitement, and was anxious for the next episode (I even considered "tv cheating" on Hubs and watching ahead down in my gym... but I resisted).  With only eight episodes, we watched it in a week (it included one "binge night" where we got through three episodes). I was sad to see it end, although I'm not sure what a second season would be like.

It was really nice to have a show that Hubs and I both enjoyed. Our tastes are a little different. I know he's looking forward to the next season of "Narcos". That one was not my taste. He also loved "Making a Murderer" (along with much of America) but I couldn't even watch it ... too depressing! I think I have a harder time when they are "real" (documentary/based on fact) than complete fiction, where I can feel a little more disconnected (I have NO problem with The Walking Dead ... we had watched that one together until the last season when I did go ahead and watch it downstairs. Hubs and I just weren't getting around to watching an episode and I wanted to watch before I heard spoilers. Hubs has never caught up). 

I wonder what we'll watch together next ...

Fully Charged

 I've had my Fitbit Charge HR for a little over a year now.

And I still love it. Maybe even MORE, now that I'm finally using a few more of its features!

I'm not sure if there were updates along the way, or if I just finally figured out some of the options that were there all along. I've recently started using more of the goodies available, and wonder why I hadn't done it all along! NOW I'm feeling fully charged using all the features of my Charge HR!

With the kids back in school, it's back to chauffeur duty for me. It's easy to remember and be ready for the drives TO school (at 6:30, 7:15 and 8:15) as the kids are right there waiting. Pick up though ... that's a little different. Sometimes as I'm home alone, it's easy to lose track of time. Last year, I'd set a little timer, but then I wasn't always in that room when it went off. Then I realized/remembered, my Fitbit has an alarm!

So I set it up ... elementary pickup Mon-Thurs, early out on Friday, and my turn for middle school pickup on Tuesdays (this one I really need, as it's just a once a week thing). Now, I get a little "buzz" on my arm at the selected times, and I'm off! It's been great. WHY wasn't I doing that all along? It's uber easy to set a one-time alarm too. Great feature. Thanks Fitbit!

Another feature I've been focused on more recently is the "Hourly Activity" option. I think this was a new addition with one of the updates (when Fitbit introduced the new dashboard). Here, to encourage you to get up and move, you get a dot when you walk 250 consecutive steps in any said hour. The default setting was from the hours of 9-5, but you could change it to any nine hour span. I chose to have it track from seven in the morning until nine at night.

One some weeks, I was REALLY motivated to make sure I filled in all my little dots. I would sync my Charge and if I hadn't hit my 250 steps, I would make sure and get it in. I'd watch the clock and be aware of the hours and my movement (or lack thereof). On other weeks, I wouldn't actively TRY to hit the steps, but just look at the feedback to see how I did during the day. I'm quite active, and adverse to sitting still, and 250 steps isn't much, about five minutes of movement. But still, it's interesting to SEE if you've been stationary. It's not always something I'm aware of (sitting down doing a blog update ... that would get me some days! Oops!) One of my favorite ways to get a quick set of steps in was to just practice a Zumba song! The device itself does not give you a buzz when the hour is almost up and hour haven't gotten your steps in ... I think other gadgets, and the newer Fitbit's do have that feature as well.

An update quite a while ago introduced "autotracking" to the ChargeHR. Before that, I'd need to remember to start the timer on my ChargeHR when Zumba class started up, and more importantly, to STOP it when it was over. Unlike my FitbitONE, there isn't an option to adjust the time if you forget (and leaving it running really throws off your stats!)

After a few initial tracking attempts, I didn't bother starting/stopping the time for my elliptical workouts. I do three or more a day, and it was just a pain ... and they were usually pretty similar every time. After the update, suddenly my elliptical workouts were being recorded without me doing anything. I found I did like the feedback from them, as sometimes my intensity did differ. I also loved when it would pick up a walk (my duck walks for example), when maybe I hadn't anticipated going very far, but then did (so I wouldn't have tracked it manually). 

It was interesting to see how the ChargeHR could guess what kind of exercise I was doing. It could tell the difference between being on the elliptical, or walking on the treadmill. It would differentiate between a walk and a run. It isn't perfect ... when I mow the lawn, it thinks I'm riding a bike, and when I AM riding a bike, it logs it as a walk. Happily, while I can't adjust the time frame, I can change the label to if it came up incorrectly (just for my records, it doesn't change anything in the stats). Just FYI ... Zumba comes up as a general "activity" ...  Now that my 13-year has a ChargeHR, it's fun to look at his account and see what exercise he's wracked up too (the basic Charge didn't have the auto-tracking feature). 

You CAN still track things manually, and a number of my Zumba buddies with Fitbits still do. I like to see how the auto-tracked minutes line up with what I judged the workout to be (or tracked on my other gadgets). It's usually within a minute or two. 

If you have a ChargeHR ... are YOU fully CHARGED? 

Are you using all the features available?

My Charge is my backup tracker. I had my One for years before and couldn't give it up, but wanted to try the heart rate monitor. So I got it, set up a separate account (so I can wear them both at once, and get data from both) and was on my way. 

I am friends with myself you see ... there IS quite a discrepancy in steps!

Weekly Weigh-In #164

I think this is the highest week I've had since I originally lost the weight over 11 years ago :( It's just been a slow/steady gain in Spring and Summer. I've looked back on my records and I do seem to have a "spring/summer" weight gain pattern. Feb (my last low, even though it wasn't that low, 160) was right when I had my Mirena IUD inserted. Could there be any correlation (many have reported weight gain as a side effect)? Or is it just my eating that needs improving (well duh, that's a given, regardless even of weight loss, just for health ... I know. Just can't seem to do it).

NUMBERS: Up .9, average up .97 (172.47). No deficit this week, over by 646. Average calories in 2536. Average daily burn 3001. Step average for the week was 21705. 70min of weights, 816 cardio minutes, 64.92 exercise miles. FOOD: Candy corn and salted caramels were quite the temptation this week. Didn't stay under 2000 any day (but also didn't have a 3000+ day, so there's that). FITNESS: Hit six Zumba classes, only five days with an hour of elliptical. Just once each on the bike and treadmill (okay, there was a second treadmill, but just a wimpy walk, not sure if I count it), but I did get in my two weight workouts for the week. Brought burn over 3000 four days, but didn't quite hit 30k on any day. FAMILY: Watching "Stranger Things" with Hubs had me more stationary than in past weeks (trying to catch an episode a night, three on Monday evening). An orthodontist appointment for #3, basketball games for three of the boys. Some time spent on blog updates and highlight reels.

 Here's a quick week recap ...

• Friday (0909): Intake 2800. Burn 3067. Attempted going straight to Zumba after late-start (middle school) carpool and still got in 50min of class (they were quite late starting). Got in my hour of elliptical and weights. Lots of chauffeuring boys around today. 
• Saturday (0910): Intake 2400. Burn 2655. Hit a new, free Saturday Zumba class. 8:15 is a bit early, but I can sleep in tomorrow. But only got in one 20min on the elliptical. Basketball game for #5, then the BYU/U football game in the evening (we're not big followers, but had it on). 
• Sunday (0911): Intake 2700. Burn 2156. Hubs and the boys hit the lake. No official exercise, but I did get some steps in mowing the lawn (didn't fit it in yesterday) and some shopping.
• Monday (0912): Intake 2200. Burn 3203. Good activity day with Zumba, hour of elliptical and 2.5miles on the treadmill.  Dominos dinner and "Stranger Things" binge watch with hubby.
• Tuesday (0913): Intake 2300. Burn 3400. Great activity day with Zumba, 80min elliptical, bike and weights. I never stopped moving today. An ortho appointment and basketball practice for the boys (chauffeuring on my part). 
• Wednesday (0914): Intake 2800. Burn 2959. Dragging day! Not sure if it's soreness from weights yesterday (although I'm not feeling it near as much as I did Friday's weight workout) or what. Had to push through Zumba and my hour of elliptical. Overate too.
• Thursday (0915): Intake 2550. Burn 3021. Still dragging. Just Zumba and hour of elliptical again today. The evening was spent cheering on the boys in basketball games.

 Five Featured Photos (and Videos this week) ...

Start of the Fall season with #5 (he IS #5, shortest on the team, 5th grade playing up with the 6th graders). He's on two teams, three leagues for Fall. Saturdays will be busy with three games most weeks. 

 My Mexico missionary in a mustache. 

Here's how my son and his friends asked their dates to Homecoming.

Music Videos! My boy's "song" is at 4:00 (Akon)

Here's that same son (#3 here) playing basketball ... double OT for the win!

... and son #3 in his game (they won as well!)
He's #31 here. I was a little late coming in (game had started, it was 7-6)
because of the overtime game from #2.
Same building, back to back games, different gyms.

Futuristic Sci-Fi Weight Loss

Time for my monthly "Recent Reads" post. 

I read a LOT of futuristic sci-fi stuff. Tons with a post-apocalyptic premise and it's always interesting to delve into an author's imaginations of the future. Vampires, Zombies, world-wide destruction? 

In THIS futuristic society, there has been no apocalypse, but weight is heavily regulated by the government (taking the stance that health issues from being overweight cost everyone).  Introduce  "The Body Clinic" to "help" those who can't seem to get a handle on it themselves. Check into the clinic, and you get to "check out" for a few months while a more motivated mind (someone successful with the whole food/fitness thing) is inserted in your body to get the job done. Then,  you are simply slipped back into your toned, slender body. Sounds pretty good, right?  Also for those dedicated to good eating/exercise, it's a unique job where you feel like you are helping the individual and society.

Weight seems to be almost the primary health issue here (Grandad smokes, and also mentions having to pay fines and higher taxes because of that, but there's no mention of a mind swap to help people quit those cravings). After a little leeway (about 20 pounds), there are fines for carrying excess weight (and random weigh-ins to enforce and track). 

Suspension of disbelief plays a pretty important part in enjoying this novel I think. If science can actually create a "brainmap" capturing a person's mind(soul?) and insert it into another body ... surely they could have figured out some other (easier) ways to help people lose weight (I'm STILL WAITING for an implant that correctly calculates all calories going in, and calories burned. Seriously, I try to track, but who knows if the estimates are even close to correct!) And ... if such mind swapping technology exists ... it's limited to WEIGHTLOSS? Actually, that theme turns out to be a big part of the book's progression (hmmm, what else can we do if we can input someone's brain into another person's body ... endless unethical options).

Overall though, I did enjoy this read. On this constant journey to get to a healthy weight, it is interesting to ponder what people would be willing to do. To imagine what it would be like for the "reducer" ... to be taken from their fit and trim body, and placed in an overweight one (especially if it seems to have it's own cravings and temptations) and have to work their way down again. Wonder about the original mind being placed back into this new body ... would weight loss without the work have the same impact? Will they be able to keep the weight off?

This brought up some other interesting thoughts about how much your appearance does affect your personality and makes you who you are.

I'm not a fan of present tense, it just seems clunky and unnatural unless it's really well written. Well, nothing jumped out at me until well into the book (chapter 8). That's good. I picked this up for $1 (Kindle sale) and was happy with my purchase.  

Having lost my own 50 pounds several years ago, and it's been a constant struggle to keep it off (not exactly being successful at it!) I've got the exercise down (although I could improve quality), it's the eating!  Currently my 17-year old son is attempting to put on healthy weight/muscle. I so wish he could just take 20 pounds of mine (of course, my extra isn't exactly healthy weight).I wonder what the future really does hold for weight-loss wonders! :)

Weekly Weigh-In #163

This week was a little challenging, as we had family activities (featuring food) and then Labor Day, which muffed up my usual Motivated Monday. The end of the week was good. If I could just do that everyday, maybe the scale would shift?  NUMBERS: Weight up a titch (.2) with average up a titch more (.57 to 171.5). Supposedly had a small deficit for the week (-1390) with average intake coming in at 2359, average burn at 3012. Step average was 24541. 65minutes spent with weights, 931 cardio minutes and 87.06 exercise miles. FOOD: One uber bad day over 3000, but kept three under 2000. Candy corn came out ... it's a temptation! FITNESS: Got in my hour+ of elliptical  five days this week (did it Saturday, but missed Monday), four Zumba classes (again, missed Monday), three sessions on the bike, two treadmill, and two weight workouts. Three days over 3000burn/30k steps. FAMILY: Belated birthday dinner (#4 and #3) on Friday, Smores Saturday, extended family gatherings Sunday and Monday. Busy with basketball and did a derby.

Here's a quick daily breakdown ...

• Friday (0902): Intake 3200, Burn 2721. Not a good day. Even with late start, I'd hoped to get up early. Didn't happen. Dragged all day and had to push for all my exercise (60minElliptical, Zumba). Should have banked calories knowing we were going out to eat (birthday dinner at Red Robin) but I didn't. Uber over.
• Saturday (0903): Intake 2300, Burn 2907. Not bad for a Saturday. Got in my elliptical, bike and the weights I didn't do yesterday. Had a family bonfire in the backyard.
• Sunday (0904): Intake 2700. Burn 1926. Rest day, no exercise. Eating went over with our usual family breakfast, and then an extended family gathering in the evening.
• Monday (0905): Intake 2600. Burn 2782. Labor Day. My Zumba classes were taking the holiday off, so no Zumba for me. Under my hour on the elliptical today (just 40min) but did hit the bike too. Extended family over for Hub's smoked ribs, and a birthday cake celebration.
• Tuesday (0906): Intake 1800. Burn 3385. Good Day. Kept eating under control and upped the exercise. 80minElliptical, Zumba and a session on the bike. Weights too. Should have walked/jogged during #5's basketball practice but ... I was tired by evening!
• Wednesday (0907): Intake 1960. Burn 3683. Another good day. Kept food in check. For fitness ... 90minElliptical, Zumba, 2.5milesIntervals. Also got in some shopping steps and mowed the lawn. Home alone in the evening as Hubs and the littles did a derby and the older boys had basketball.
• Thursday (0908): Intake 1950. Burn 3681. Third good day! 80minElliptical, Zumba and treadmill again (3miles). Kept calories in check.

Five Featured Photos ...

 After a long time sitting in boxes ... Nerf guns made a comeback at our house.

Crazy kids! They even shot their mommy! And the kitties!

My missionary in Mexico remembered his brother's birthdays.

it was HIS birthday this week (and he got his package I shipped).

This kid (#4) came on errands with me, hoping to get some Pokemon-Go in.

He caught a Raichu and was pretty happy about that!

 Got ribs? Got rib remnants? Falling off the bone!

The three birthday boys. Big head stand in for my missionary :)

Done with the Duck Walk

Did you know there is an actual exercise called a duck walk? I didn't, I was just adding alliteration to my blog post title and thought I'd look it up.  A duck walk is described as a "walk with the body in a squatting posture" and it doesn't look very comfortable! MY duck walks were simply walks to visit my duckies. I've been doing it since mid-July, when the ducks we'd been raising flew from our backyard. They didn't go far, just to the neighborhood canal, about a 1/4 mile away from our home (when walking anyway, closer as the duck flies). My walks would vary in length, depending on where I would find them along the canal stretch any particular day. For the past month and a half, I've gone twice a day, morning and evening, bringing them some food and just saying hello. If you've been reading this blog, I've posted about my duckies and my walks a few times.

These little slip-ons ended up being my "canal" shoes. Just enough protection (after I added another layer, slipping in an extra insert) to stop the thorns from poking through, but easy to slip on (I tried sneakers and even hiking boots, but ... socks, laces ... SO much work!)  I'd bring a bag of my Mazuri Waterfowl food (this floats on the water, best nutritionally for duckies) and some less expensive chicken feed and cracked corn. Another "did you know" ... did you know bread is BAD for ducks? It fills them up but doesn't provide the nutrients they need. Hmmmm ... some might say it goes the same for humans too (especially the white, fluffy stuff that I love). 

With some of my walks ending up quite long (depending on where the ducks were located along the mile+ long stretch of canal) I started wearing headphones and getting in some audiobook time while I walked. With my twice daily walks (and other audiobook moments during the day) I got through a lot of books!

It was nice when I could go first thing in the mornings when it was still cool, and then wait until evening for my second walk. Sometimes that didn't work out, and I'd end up going later in the morning or even mid-day.

But after almost 45 days of double duck walks ... I may be done. I went out Monday ... and didn't find my duckies. I went out again on Tuesday, and didn't find my duckies. There were still some ducks, but not MY ducks.

I had anticipated this. They NEED to fly away at some point, because the canal runs dry when winter sets in. Ducks need water, and hopefully some warmer weather. While ducks are hardy, and some stick around at larger lakes, food is harder to come by. I hope they fly South, and return in the Spring. I'll be looking for them (our had some distinct coloring, so it could be possible to recognize them).

For now ... I'll keep an eye out, as I drive over the canal bridge multiple times a day. Maybe they'll be back this season, before taking off when the water goes. Maybe I'll still take a walk here and there, and I'll have my little Pokemon-Go boy keep an eye out too (he often hits the canal, getting in steps to hatch his eggs and looking for Pokemon critters). 

I'm such an indoor exerciser. I'll miss my walks. Not that I can't still walk outside of course, but without my duckie motivation ... I just don't know that I will.

... and just in case YOU are up for a duck walk, here's an example!

... and guess what my two older boys did in their high school conditioning class today? 

Yup. The duck walk! What are the chances?

TV Tuesday & Time Travel

 

Time travel ... it can be a bit mind boggling! 

Changing an event ... how does that impact the future?

I've watched three different time travel shows recently. 

• 11.22.63: When the time travel topic is an actual event in history, there is some spoilage going in. Our protagonist starts in the present day, then goes back in time (to 1963) to thwart the assassination of JFK. As a viewer going in, I'm thinking "He can't possibly succeed ... because it still happened, right?" I do like getting a little history lesson (at least some basic facts) while I watch. See what I remember from school. This was a Hulu original and has received quite a bit of buzz. It had some big names in it. But me? Ehhh. Hubs and I started watching together and neither of us were that into it. He gave up on it, and I at least wanted to see it through, I mean there were only eight episodes. I pushed through, just to finish and get a sense of closure. 
• Continuum:  This four-season series is streamable on Netflix. This was sci-fi, starting in a distant future (2077) and having several characters travel back in time to our present day, attempting to alter/improve the world they knew (where a corporation had taken over in ways they didn't like). I watched the first couple seasons a while back, then the final two (season four is only six episodes, wrapping up the series) after they were added to Netflix. I enjoyed it, and the action kept up my adrenaline as I ellipticalled away while I watched.
• 12 Monkeys: I never saw the movie, but heard about the series and figured I'd give it a try. It never showed up on Netflix or Amazon. It was on Hulu, but I elected to grab the DVD from the library (Hulu seems to stutter and pause for us). Like Continuum, this showcases a post -apocalyptic future (2043), with someone sent back to the present day to attempt to change things (stop a virus that wiped out the world). I really thought I'd like this more than I did. It was very jumpy, going from the future to now(ish) to different times. It was another that I had to push to finish (there is a second season, I'm not sure if I'm interested, and I don't have an easy way to watch if I was. Season two was only on Hulu right after it aired, it's gone now). 

I've seen a couple "time" shows featured for Fall 2016 ... 

 I did see the movie "Frequency" and loved it! 

Not technically time travel ... but changing the past/changing the future(present). 

Looks mind boggling!

I'll keep this on my "check into" list ... probably give it a try once a full season is done, 

reviews are in, and I can stream it or grab a DVD.