2022- Q2 (April/May/June)

I was starting to get back into my exercise and eating routine after the accident ... I felt like March was the trial run, and then I should be on schedule for this next quarter. It didn't really work out that way. Sometimes it just clicks, and other times it's really a struggle. Still struggling. 

Weight did go down a little, but not much. I really have NO excuses, as during this time Hubs has gone on a weight-loss plan (SOTA) so we haven't had much eating out or late night popcorn temptations. He has lost 50 pounds! He's been very dedicated and eating things I wouldn't dream of putting in my mouth (I'm super picky, but ... yuck!) He's started exercising again, so we're even comparing steps sometimes:)

Seems like I was a little more dedicated as the quarter started ... then I slowed down some. We have been having some treadmill troubles, and that's really affected #4's workouts. But honestly ... I've just been walking, and the treadmill has been fine for that. 

Active minutes generally reflect the steps taken ... 

If you look over the last years, I've kept an excel spreadsheet tracking EVERYTHING ... but I got a little behind with my concussion and didn't get back to it. I have a wall calendar that I write down my daily workouts and step count on.

Zumba three times a week (M/W/F), pickleball Thursday mornings and then treadmill, elliptical and bike in the home gym. I haven't really done many weight workouts - still having dizzy issues as I move from vertical to horizontal (and there's often a lot of that in weight workouts, although I know I could still be doing more than I am). My shoulder has continued to trouble me, and I have been going to Physical Therapy for that and doing those exercises at home. I also used the calendar to write down what I've been watching while working out. I got through eight series and 27 movies! You can see more on #JenBsTV and #JenBsMovies HERE. 

 

...as per usual, it's the eating that does me in. 

I did pretty good getting back into fasting in April, slipped a couple times in May, and then pretty much bagged it for most of June. Tracking calories ... similar story. The averages of course are NOT correct for May/June, because those missing days were probably pretty high. I need to track calories for success. I know this.

... I had an earbud in and audiobook going whenever I could, so lots of books!

... and family updates on the family blog (April, May, June)

 

Finally ... sleep! I'm doing pretty good there. Zzzzzz...

School was still in session for April and May, but since #5 got his driver's license, I don't have to get up so early to get him to school (he liked to be there at 6:00am for basketball). As we move toward summer though, the sun rises earlier, and sometimes I still wake earlier than I need to. I SHOULD get up and get early exercise in!

What I Was Watching ~ Q2

April, May & June 2022 ... watched several series and quite a few movies while working out in the home gym. There were a couple watched upstairs (not working out) with Hubs, but most were while walking on the treadmill or on the elliptical.

We still had AppleTV for April, so I watched a couple of shows there. Severance was slow to start for me but then I got hooked. Quite the cliffhanger! I liked The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey ... premise reminded me a bit of Flowers for Algernon. Season 4 of Mrs. Maisel dropped on Amazon Prime, so I watched that. The Boys (S3) came out and Hubs and I watched that upstairs (and the last couple episodes won't release until July, but I still included it here - I have been watching s18 of Grey's Anatomy, and I'll put that one in the next quarter). Under the Banner of Heaven was getting a lot of buzz. I'd recently read the book ... I didn't enjoy the series at all though, it was a push to finish. While on the polygamy bandwagon, I re-watched some of BigLove. Everyone's been waiting for the fourth season of Stranger Things. My #5 is a fan, and stayed up until 1:00 in the morning when it dropped on May 27 and binged all the episodes. I took my time and watched them over the next week or so while in the gym. #4 had watched the first season long ago, then never continued. He did a binge to catch up, then watched s4 as well. The final two (long) episodes didn't drop until July 1 ... but I'm still including the series here in Q2 (and those were watched by July 2).

 Quite a few movies this quarter ... 27! More than double the first three months.

Sometimes I'm more in a movie mood.

A lot of times I'll check the "what's leaving" and use that to chose what to watch next. A few here were re-watches (Moneyball, Ready Player One, Social Network, Two Weeks Notice, Erin Brockovich, Warhorse ... & Topgun - I haven't seen the new one yet). West Side Story (eh), Spiderman, The Batman ... those were "new" and recently in theaters. The Valet was cute, and I really liked Hustle.

 

Movie memories ... fun to look at the collage and see which ones I really remember. And which I don't!

2022 ~ Q1 (Jan/Feb/March)

I had plans ... New Years resolutions and all that. I was going to get back on the weight-loss wagon. Back to IMF and counting calories. Upping the exercise, setting a 10k a day goal. Things don't always go according to plan.

January started off okay. It was really hard to get back into the fasting. Back in Fall2020, it just clicked, and it was easy. Stuck with it with success for about six months. I think I just got too flexible with the fasting, taking weekends off, then an evening here and there. I also NEED to keep up with the calorie counting, as even with limited hours, they add up.

 

Then there was the accident.

It was Sunday, January 23 in the evening. Normal day. I'd done my exercise, hadn't really fasted, eating late (around 7:00). I hadn't logged my calories for the day, but I'd eaten plenty. We don't know exactly what happened ... I was feeling a bit off while I was doing some kitchen cleanup. My son heard a thud and when he came to investigate, I was on the ground, unconscious and bleeding. I guess I passed out, so fast that I didn't have time to control the fall at all (no ladylike faint for me!) and hit my head. He said I was shaking, like a seizure. I bit my tongue, blood there too.  The rest of the family was home as he called for help, and I woke up in an ambulance on the way to the hospital (but not before throwing up on the entryway rug). In the ER, the nausea was unrelenting, the world kept spinning. A CT scan and EKG didn't show anything alarming, no brain bleed, so that was good (my MIL had a fall a few years ago that did result in TBI). I got a few staples in my head. It took a few nausea medications, and a few hours, before I felt like I could move, but I did just want to be home in my bed.

There went my 10k a day step goal. And everything else ...

I was down and out for several days, just managing to get in a shower, eat a little. Lots of sleeping. I gradually started trying a few more things. Back to baking my sourdough, doing a few things around the house. After a couple weeks, I attempted my first walk on the treadmill. My first day back to Zumba was February 14 ♥ then I added in some elliptical, and even a weight workout. Still had some spinny moments here and there, going from a vertical to a horizontal position would (still) bring on one slow spin (so NO crunches for me).  Mostly back to normal for March (an off day there on the 6th, missed my 10k, felt sick, had to lay down much of the day) and even added in pickleball as another activity.

 

Active minutes generally mirror steps ... 

... as for food and fasting ...

Even before the accident, I wasn't doing great. Having a hard time controlling my calories, not able to keep up a full fast. After the accident, I didn't dare fast, watching for any/all signs of dizziness, and not wanting low blood sugar to possibly add to that. Some emotional eating during this time too. I was pretty much eating whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted... and the scale reflected that. Back to fasting and calorie counting in March. Now controlling calories ... that's another story.

 

 

... and sleep

... interesting to see my sleep right after the accident. Mucho sleep. Had a few days shortly afterward where I couldn't sleep, then things normalized. The accident timed pretty much perfectly with my youngest son getting his driver's license. Monday, January 24 was the first day he was going to drive himself to school, saving me the 5:30 wake-up call. None of the family did school/work that Monday (we'd just arrived home from the hospital around 6:00 am), but my mornings would have adjusted anyway, accident or no, which not only affects my sleep, but also exercise (as I now rarely get in early exercise like I did with a 5:30 rising time). 

What I Was Watching ... while working out (and recovering). 

I stuck it on its own blog post.

My ears did give me some issues after the accident, but I still got plenty of audiobooks in!

All are rated and reviews on my GoodReads (shEreader)

... and finally, the family. 

My monthly collages, with recaps of everything on the Family Blog.

 

What I Was Watching ~ Q1

 I'm making a recap post for the first quarter of 2022 ... I figured I'd post my What I Was Watching in a separate post, just so I can see all the TV/Movies at a glance, without wading through all the other stuff. I might copy this back onto the quarterly posts if I end up doing a TV/Movie recap for the year.

What I Was Watching ... while working out (and recovering). Starting with Series.

Squid Game was pre-accident. Watched in Korean with English subtitles (I don't do dubbing). VERY intense, great workout show! Kept me coming back. Total switch to Julie and the Phantoms - teenboppy but cute and I loved the music. Cobra Kai and Ozark were upstairs with Hubs. Dead to Me was upstairs after the accident (liked it a lot). Imposters ... eh, won't be continuing on with that series. Started upstairs, then finished while working out. Liked A Discovery of Witches - first season WAS on Amazon (it was leaving, I had to finish it up quick). I would like to watch the other seasons. With AppleTV again, I watched the second season of For All Mankind and really liked it, kept me coming back to the gym. And Just Like That ... eh. I realized I had NOT cancelled the Paramount subscription like I thought, so quickly watched season 5 before my now cancelled subscription ended. 

Moving on to Movies ...

My family seemed surprised that I'd like Don't Look Up (they thought it would be too dark). The Big Sick and We Bought a Zoo were  ones I'd seen before and re-watched. Same for Mission Impossible and Forrest Gump (those were upstairs with Hubs, and #3 putting it on in the kitchen).  Mrs. Winterbourne is old, but was new to me. LOVED the music in Encanto. Went on a little Ryan Reynolds kick I guess, with Free Guy, Adam Project and The Proposal. Infinite ... I'd read the book it was based on and figured I'd give the movie a try (other than the main character's name and reincarnation theme, nothing at all like the book!) The Backup Plan was my last movie of the quarter (the final two on Paramount before my cancellation). 

2021 - The End

 

Well, the first half of the year was promising. Then, oops, I did it again. Stopped tracking my intake. Forgot about fasting. Slipped up on the exercise. I struggled with my monthly updates, and didn't even get up posts for October, November or December. I am still wearing my Fitbit (steps, active minutes, sleep) and weighing everyday, so some of the stats are there in my digital cloud.  My little excel file of facts and stats (requiring some manual work on my part) is eerily empty there at the end of the year though. I just never got around to updating and entering information. Alas ...

So here's a look at what I DO have from the last three months of the year ...

BOOKS

October 2021 ... 22 books. The six at the top are part of the "Middle Falls Time Travel" series (there have been some in previous months, and a couple more coming). Each feature an individual who dies at some point, and "resets" to an earlier point in their life. Often this occurs multiple times, as the characters try out different life options. Always an interesting "what if" imagining. The Queen's Gambit ... I'd watched the mini-series, and it seems like it was quite true to the book. As I listened (included in Audible Plus) I would visualize scenes from the show. Oracle was made for Audible, hard not to imagine Joshua Jackson as the MC, as he was narrating and his voice is distinctive. I really liked 180 Seconds, and 3:00 am was short, very unique - I'll be continuing on with that series. All were audiobooks. A couple were holds come in at my local library, some were KindleUnlimited, others were Audible Plus.

November 2021 ... 20 books. Finnikin and Immortal Rules were old favorites I read years ago, and did a re-read (well, listen ... all audiobooks again this month). These were ones I actually spent Audible credits on to purchase and keep (ones I KNOW I like).  The cartoonish covers (top right) were all contemporary, one more "MiddleFalls", some paranormal/apocalyptic, and the bottom row were all "realistic" and or "historical" although Dovetail had a touch of mystical mystery. 

December 2021 ... 24 books technically, although several where quite short, and one was a DNF (gave up after a couple hundred pages, it was 600+ and I wasn't liking it). Whisper/Weapon, a duology was a favorite (Australian author, not at my local library, but included as part of AudiblePlus), finished up the 3am series and liked it ... not so much the same author's "Unforseen". Finished up the "Middle Falls" included in AudiblePlus (12 books total). My Audible subscription is ending, so I was really trying to take advantage of AudiblePlus books (21 of the 24 were included). I borrowed a couple from the library, and got one in exchange for a read/review. 

What I was Watching ... my son (who does a lot of treadmill in the home gym) and I have talked quite a bit about how some shows can be much more motivating for exercise (whether it's getting us down to the gym at all, or energizing us to run instead of walk). With me being "off" these last three months, I didn't spend as much time in the gym, and didn't get through as many series/movies as I might have otherwise. Some of what I watched, was upstairs (not exercising) ...

I wrapped up my Hulu subscription (I like Hulu, but will only splurge sporadically then binge) by watching "The Split" which was intriguing. My son subscribed to a Paramount free trial, so I squeezed in a season of The Good Fight (season 4). Super political! We requbscribed to AppleTV as Hubs wanted to watch The Morning Show (season2) and I got him to try Ted Lasso (I'd watched the first season, we rewatched it together, then watched season 2) - he loved it! I don't know that he loved "Schmigadoon" (I'd watched it down in the gym myself, then we watched it together, it's short) but he did give it a try. I'd started Physical when we had AppleTv in the spring, and finished it up. Hubs and I watched The White Lotus (that was weird) and then I watched season 17 of Grey's Anatomy (while I was down with a cold). 

Movies ... LOVED Tick Tick Boom. King Richard, Finch and Swan Song were good. Gave a couple Christmas movies a try (ehhhh). A Silent Voice is not my normal viewing choice, but #4 had to write a "movie evaluation" for his English class. As I usually help him some with work like that, I had to give the movie a go.  Red Notice ... ehhh, not a fan, felt stupid/silly. Hubs and I watched Dune and the new Matrix (Dune was pretty good, Matrix ... no). 

Family Stuff ... I kept up with my monthly recap/collage (on my family blog)

So - that will be my wrap up of the last three months. Hoping to get back on track with the whole "New Year" and resolutions type thing, finally getting over my cold, getting back to routine. Back to fasting, back to counting calories, tracking (and inputting) exercise. Setting a "10k a day" challenge for myself ... wish me luck!

2021 - #JenBsBooks

 

I slipped up in a lot of things this last year, especially with food/fitness and weight loss ... but BOOKS? I had a good book year. My eyesight has gone downhill these last couple years, and it's really impacted my "reading" reading. While I got in a few books with my own eyes and imagination, almost everything was audio. I kept good track on GoodReads (and I LOVE their end of year stats!) I made monthly collages (you can see them on the monthly recaps, or I compiled them HERE) and intended to make a stat spreadsheet ... but I did get off-track on that at the end of the year.

... another look at my generalized GoodReads ratings/reviews ...

... as mentioned, I was extremely Audible this year ;) I'd only had a 3-month trial membership previously (in 2020), but when a $99 12/month, 12/credit deal was offered at the start of 2021, I figured I'd give it a try. Unfortunately these stats don't show the whole picture, as I listened to a lot from my library (Libby/Overdrive) as well. Almost any book I received as an advance review copy WAS through Audible though, as well as any KindleUnlimited books (there were a couple KU deals I grabbed during the year). So even though this may not reflect ALL my audio, it's still super interesting to me. I'm trying to remember Dec 7 ... I do know that was a bad night of sleep for me, and I turned on an audiobook while I was laying awake for a while. So I started early (midnight?) that day.

Here's a look at my books (a GoodReads reflection) ...