Project 50 - Day 6

Yesterday wasn't bad. I was able to get everything done without feeling rushed. The morning routine is still going smooth. I can't think of anything I would want to change right now. My eating is still a bit off, but we had some money come in that will make this an easier goal as we go. One thing that made our eating better yesterday was that I was craving apples and was able to send Chad to the store to get them. Also, we had chicken tacos for dinner, so we had the veggies that go with that. That is an improvement from the day before yesterday. My skill (mosaic crochet) is moving along. I am now working color rows for each row which makes it both more fun and more challenging which is the point of working on a new skill even if it builds on my current abilities. For my exercise, I hopped on the Gazelle while Chad and I watched a movie. It's not as fun as other forms of exercise, but it got the job done. Reading my nonfiction book is going great. Eleanor Roosevelt was such an amazing woman! Reading about her life in her words is something I love doing. Her personality coming through the pages makes me love her even more. I am loving this challenge so far. It is helping me prioritize things that I want to do and gets me off my phone and using my brain instead. 

Project 50 - Day 5

Yesterday was fairly smooth in most areas for this challenge. My diet is a bit off because we didn't know what was going on financially, so we did a bare minimum grocery shopping this week. I believe we have things figured out, so I may send Chad to the store to get a few things so we can do better at this challenge. My morning routine has been going really well. I have been reading in the Bible in the morning lately, and I can feel

It strengthening my testimony in the Lord. The mosaic crochet blanket is coming along decently so far. I am now 3 rows into the picture which means it has gotten a bit more difficult, but that's the point. I'm supposed to be learning. I also finished part 2 of Eleanor Roosevelt's autobiography. She was truly a remarkable woman. If I could be even a portion of the person she was, I would be happy. For my exercise yesterday, I walked in place for an hour while watching a movie with Chad. I know that most people wouldn't count that, but I do. It is more movement that I did for a long time. I will get into other things like workout videos from YouTube. I just haven't yet. 

Overall, I think this challenge is helping me a lot. I have personal goals I want to reach in life, and this is giving me a bit of direction to reach them. 

Project 50 - Day 4

Day for of this challenge was on Monday, but I'm not good at writing my reflections. Also, since yesterday was Tuesday, there is no review for that day because I have no way of fitting all of this stuff in on Tuesdays. 

My morning routine is probably the easiest part of this challenge. I have it pretty much ingrained in me at this point on the weekdays. I enjoy my time praying, reading scriptures, and writing in my journal. It is my time spent in silence with God. 

I did ok with my eating. I am continuing to eat a can of fruit with my breakfast. We are starting to run low, but I will figure that part out. I'm not great at adding fruit or vegetables with lunch. I know I need to do better. Since I work from home, I have no excuse for this. 

I did my exercise and working on my skill at the same time. I walked in place while I crocheted. I was running out of time at the end of the day because I went out with my friend to a movie and dinner. I am excited that I have my first row of the picture done and can't wait until I get further into it. 

I'm moving along in Eleanor Roosevelt's autobiography. I love this woman. She did so many great things! I don't know how anyone could not look up to her. 

Project 50 - Days 2 and 3

I forgot to write my reflection last night, so I'm going to do it with today's reflection.

Goal 1: Morning Routine

• This went well yesterday but was a bit shaky today. I'm actually proud of myself for doing any of it on the weekend because I am horrible at setting aside the time to prayer, read scriptures, and journal on the weekends. (The shower and getting ready for the day part never get skipped.) Today was hard because I was trying to read at the table while I was eating breakfast with Chad watching tv in the living room. I was a bit too distracted, but I didn't want to do it in my room like I do on weekdays. I may have to concede and take my breakfast and morning routine bag to my desk in my room.

Goal 2: Read 10 pages

• This goal was hard for me yesterday. I was groggy all day. It actually took me three time of reading a few pages at a time to get through my 10 pages. It's not that I don't like the book. I was just tired.
• Today, this goal was a bit easier. I did break it into 5 pages at a time (before the Broncos game and during half time), but it wasn't hard to do. 

Goal 3: 1 hour of exercise 

• This is a hard goal for me, but I got it done both days even though I really wanted to skip it today. Yesterday, I went for an hour walk with Chad. Today I walked around the house for an hour. I much prefer walking outside. 

Goal 4: Eat healthy meals 

• I can honestly say I'm doing better at this than I was before the challenge, but I'm not doing as good as I would like. My breakfasts have been fairly healthy, I think. Yesterday, I had avocado toast with bacon and Swiss cheese and some grapes. Today, I had avocado toast with eggs and Swiss cheese and a can of pears. Lunch had been more difficult. I don't remember what I had yesterday, but today I had gravy and whatever I found to dip in it (mostly bread and crackers). Dinner yesterday was biscuits and gravy made with ground turkey instead of hamburger and some peach slices. Today, Chad made butternut squash ravioli. 

Goal 5: work on a new skill for one hour a day

• I have found it easier to do this while watching tv or on the phone with my daughter. Even with the distractions, one hour is kind long to cut and crochet. Maybe it will be easier to sit and do this when I get to the picture in the blanket. Right now it is basically a row of single crochet followed by a row of double crochet. 

Project 50 - Day 1

Chad and I started a new challenge together called Project 50. We started this because we both have had health struggles and want to get healthier. We are hoping that by implementing some new habits for 50 days, we can move towards the right direction. I will have to skip Tuesdays because I work and go straight to the temple for my shift there each week, but those will be the only days that I will skip. 

Goal 1: 1 hour morning routine 

• This is a fairly easy goal for me. I have had an established morning routine for a while. This morning I spent more time on reading rather than on my phone which felt like the right change. My current routine is to get up, take a shower and get ready for the day, pray, read scriptures (currently reading the Old Testament), and journal. I had a bit of extra time this morning and worked on the autobiography I have been reading. 

Goal 2: Read 10 pages

• I'm not counting scripture reading for this because it's just something I do at this point. I'm reading Eleanor Roosevelt's autobiography. I liked the first section of it better than the second section because the second section is more about her husband and his presidency than it is about her. I am determined to finish it thogh because I find her fascinating. I am happy to say that I did read 10 pages today. I learned that even back then, they had to try to combat rumors. 

Goal 3: 1 hour of exercise 

• This goal was hard to do. I planned to do it after dinner, but Noel called and we talked for about  an hour and a half after dinner. I did complete this goal though by walking around my kitchen island. 

Goal 4: eat healthy meals 

• Chad and I decided that eating healthy means we will have a fruit and a vegetable with every meal, I am happy to say that I did this.

Goal 5: learn a new skill and work on it for an hour a day. 

• I am building on a consul for this. I am learning mosaic crochet to make Eric a blanket. It's not easy, but I have confidence that I will learn how to do this. Today I finished rows 4 and 5 of the blah.

Health Update

 

I went to the doctor for my yearly checkup a couple of weeks ago. For the most part, my health hasn't changed. My thyroid levels have been regulated on the same dosage for the last 5 or 6 years, and most of my blood work came back normal. I did have a few changes, though. My blood pressure is slightly high but not high enough for medication. I just need to take my blood pressure at least a few times a week. I am also slightly prediabetic. I was told to exercise more and change my diet. Basically, I need to lose weight. This isn't surprising. It was just a matter of time before my weight started causing health issues.

I don't have much of a plan to improve my health. I have tried in the past, but it's hard to stick to anything. The time I was the most successful I used an app on my phone to track my food and started running. I am considering doing that, but it will have to wait until after Labor Day because we will be out of town. It would be a lot easier to make changes if I wasn't on the road. I will have to figure something out. I don't want to have to deal with more medication for the rest of my life. 

Killers of a Certain Age - Book Review

 

The book choice for my book club over the last month was Killers of a Certain Age. This is a book about a group of women who are paid assassins who have been working for "The Museum" for 40 years and are told they are being forced into retirement. However, they find out that they are not quietly going into retirement. They have a bounty placed on their heads. Through the book we are taken through the process of finding out why they have a bounty on their heads and what they do about it. 

When I was told the basic plot of the book, I was quite excited to read this book. For the most part, it is a good book. My main complaint is that the flash backs in the first half of the book are not in good places. Through the flashbacks, we learn how they are recruited, trained, and build relationships within the company. These are important bits of information, but I feel like it would have been better had they been at the beginning of the book and used a flash forward type of thing as the book went on. Another thing that may have worked would have been somehow including the recruiting and training into the dialog. I'm not a writer, so I don't even know if that would work. I just didn't like how the author would have a cliff hanger at the end of a chapter then suddenly change to something from the past. Again, this is only a criticism of the first half of the book. In the second half of the book, flashbacks were used to show the relationship between the main characters and the people they were perusing. This felt like a good use of flashbacks. (I'm not a total hater of the flashbacks. I just think it is used wrong or too much in a lot of novels now days.) The good part of the book is that the basics of the plot move along at a good pace. The imagery was perfect with not too much description but enough to really know, understand, and feel a part of what was going on. Overall, I gave this book 3 stars on Goodreads. I will probably not read the second book because I was satisfied with the ending of the book and don't feel the need to. One person in my book club read it and said it was ok but not as good as the first one. 

It took me almost 2 weeks longer to read than it should have (my deadline was July 16, but I finished today). This was not because it was a bad book. I have traveled over the last month which slowed me down, and I spent way too much time on my phone over the last few months. One of these days, I will give myself more time to read like I did at the beginning of the year.