Adjusted Reality

Month: November 2009

Bursting On The Scene

On November 9, 2009

I am sort of a schism of emotions today. Mostly good ones but I digress. Let’s get on with it:

Movin’ on down:

This morning I started the week at 154.8. This is a huge victory. I haven’t started the week below 155 since – well, I can’t remember. Since I have been paying attention to Monday weights. My low weight last week was 152.8, which is also something I haven’t seen in a while. How did I accomplish this?

Cakehole Shoving:

I actually did a damn good job of this for the entire week – for the most part. I was below 1400 Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday. I was around 1500 Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday. I went a little nutzo on Sunday, but it couldn’t have been above 2000. I did learn some good lessons and reinforce some good behaviors (or at least “lesser evil” behaviors).

Friday, I enjoyed a very healthy and low cal dinner and some drinks, but I found the good stopping point where I was enjoying myself but wasn’t wasted. I wish to remember that point as sometimes on a weekend, I’ll just run up to that cliff and jump right on over. Fun, yes, but then I pay for it the next day. Saturday I was pretty responsible as well, we stayed in, ate leftovers, and cleaned like mad people. The majority of the house is now sparkling clean – or at least for us normally opposite-of-neat-freak peoples.

Sunday, we had planned a little controlled splurge – ordering a medium supreme pizza and that along with salad and veggies being our meal for the day. We put the pizza order in (and my Zliten, who was in need of meat, made us order the large chicken wings and fries) and then as soon as I hung up we got an invite to celebrate a friend’s birthday at the Alamo Drafthouse. Fun yes – but my day was not working out as planned at all. This day could have potentially been my ruination.

The pizza was delicious. Just what I was craving. We each had 2 slices and put the rest away (and now have a delicious lunch for today). I had 3 chicken wings, and we split the order of fries. The nice thing about the place is they have no frier. Yeah, I know – the wings and fries are SO ungreasy because they’re baked. It’s awesome. A hefty meal perhaps, but my dinner later was a greek salad with italian. Eaten right before we went to the alamo. Hello, strategy.

The problem was, we got there and they were picking up the tab so they said to order whatever we wanted. To clarify for any non-Austinites, the Alamo Drafthouse is really the only reasonable place to see a movie. The ticket prices are cheaper, and they serve food (like real food – you can get pita chips, veggies, and hummus there, or a burger, or pizza if you would like) and beer and wine. They also do really cool events like 80s sing alongs, screenings of old classics, and sometimes feasts themed to the movie.

I got a glass of wine and then somehow convinced myself it was a good idea to also order a guiness milkshake. I shared it around with everyone and then drank about half. While it may have been a not-so-good idea to order it I conquered two things. First – milkshakes have held this magical power over me. I have had a craving for one for over two years. This one was delicious, but honestly, I would have rather had a nice three bite home baked cookie, or a sliver of decadent chocolate cake. I will no longer be obsessed with them as they are firmly in the category now of “eh, totally not worth the calories”. Second – I was able to drink half of it, put it down on the table, and leave it alone. I have a big thing about finishing (which is why I only cook what I’m going to eat or make sure it is tucked away before I can go for it again), so it was nice to not suck the whole thing down.

All in all, a great week. This week becomes a bit more challenging. Friday, I have the day off and a friend and I are going to hit happy hour. The plan is to get a good lunch in me and only allow myself healthy food if I’m going to drink. Then, Saturday is our Austinite wedding reception. We had a lot of friends that couldn’t go to Vegas, so we decided to host a reception here. The win – we’re doing all the cooking. However, I’m not going to subject my guests to stuff that doesn’t taste good so I have some ’sperimenting to do. I am excited for a Polynesian feast!

I have been totally lazy about tracking calories over the weekend. I’d chastise myself for it, but it actually seems to be working. I know if I fall face down in the bag of chips or if I eat mindfully – and as long as I stick with the latter, I do ok. If the downward trend comes to a screeching halt… then I’m back on it like bees on honey. For now, I’ll see if I can get by as it’s something I’d like to move away from eventually.

My Ass, and Moving It:

During the week, I am a workout saint. Shredded without complaint Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. I did my DDR, my yoga, and my running. I think I might have even beat a record running but sadly I wasn’t really timing. The watch is coming with on tomorrow’s run though fo sho. If there is any chance I ran a sub 25 minute 5k I want proof! My 5 mile time is improving as well. I’m under 50, now I want to work towards under 45. I know I can do it!

The weekdays jam packed are killing me by the weekend. I am so over it and sore and tired (thx u Jillian), I don’t want to do a fucking thing. On Saturday, I woke up feeling like my pec was slightly pulled. I had planned on shredding that morning and decided against it. It takes me a full weekend before my feet and legs feel good again. Level 3 is brutal. Doing 5 days of intense strength back to back is brutal.

So this week I’m changing it up. Just a little. I said I was going to shred for 4 weeks. I’m not going to wuss out this last week, but I am going to alternate levels. M, W, F – Level 3. Tu/Th – Level 1 or 2. Going forward, I’m going to try to keep it on the schedule 2-3 times per week until half training gets too intense. I don’t want to knock it too much. I am seeing results. I wore jeans yesterday that I haven’t even had the guts to put on in months. It is working. However, I just can’t risk rolling into training time injured and tired, and I think that alternating the days will work my muscles differently enough that it will be good for me and I won’t feel on the brink of injury.

NaNoWriMo:

The story is developing nicely. Writing about characters inspired by and very similar to us ten years ago (extended and stereotyped and much more extreme) has made it easier to keep going – I just have to dig in my “memories” section of the brain for the next plot twist. Perhaps the next one will be a story created solely by my warped little mind, but this is something safe for the first and very time-crunched attempt and I’m appreciating it.

I have no idea if it will be interesting. If it was a screenplay, it would be one of those Napolean Dynamite type movies – slow paced, with some humor, but you almost feel like you are laughing at the poor sobs because their situation is so ridiculous, not because it’s terribly funny. Nothing terribly extraordinary happens to them – they don’t get sucked into a black hole and end up in Bizarro World and become royalty – they just live their lives. The end is anticlimactic. But it’s kind of what I’m going for.

I’m also a little behind. I should be at about 12500 words as of yesterday, and I’m only at about 11000. It doesn’t sound like that much, but tonight I’m aiming to do about 3k words to get caught up, which is about 2 hours of full concentration, and I am usually at about 50% with the TV on and my Zliten home. Hopefully I can have some kick ass sessions this week and get back ahead as this weekend isn’t looking promising for writing time. For those of you who haven’t checked out NaNoWriMo, the goal is 50k words by Nov 30th.

Initial prediction – I’m going to finish the story. I’m up in the air whether I can continue to dedicate the hours each day to finish up the words in the time allotted (though being super competitive me, I bet I’ll do it), but I’m going to do it even if it’s not by the end of the month. However, I’m also now seeing a novel as a manageable and possible thing to do. If I did it right and came up with a story outline, laid out the chapters in an outline, and then went to town, I think I could have something polished in perhaps 6 months time. I’m not going to get books published by wishing for it. It something I can EASILY do while just relaxing at home on the couch with the lappy. This is a HUGE revelation for me!

It’s the same thing as a marathon. It looks like a huge, unwieldy task. Highly intimidating. There is no better way to get there than picking a deadline and putting together a plan to get there. Looking forward to cracking both of those nuts in the next year.

Back to my Monday. What mountains are you going to climb this week? Inspiration wanted.

On Growing Up, and Things To Be When You Do…

By Quix

On November 5, 2009

In Uncategorized

Let it not be said that I am unhappy with my station in life. I’m not rich, but I am comfortable. I don’t quite make enough to be the sole breadwinner in the household – but with a smaller mortgage (aka NOT buying a 4 bedroom house in the exact neighborhood we wanted) and less of a car payment (hello, hybrid luxury car), I could probably make a stab at it. I have the possibility and experience in the next few years to get a title and salary bump that makes sense (taking the Associate out of my title, or as I like to say – removing the Ass from my Prod), and frankly, which I think I deserve with the time I’ve put in.

However, I’m seeing game studios collapse around me left and right. We are actually doing really freaking well in the midst of the chaos, but a year from now… who knows? It’s really hit me lately that beyond project management and game design, I have very few marketable skills. What happens if the well dries up here in Austin and moves on, and I don’t want to move on with it? I love living here. It is PERFECT for me. Cost of living affords me a mortgage and not a rent check each month, unlike other hot spots like So Cal. The weather here really jives with me. I don’t think I could do somewhere rainy like Seattle or cold like the Boston area. I feel at home here like I never have in a place before – the people are quirky and awesome and friendly, it’s not weird to be active, and there is always cool stuff going on and it’s not like you have to be a cool kid to know about it.

So what’s a gal to do? I’ve been thinking about this for a while. If I want to stay here, what is my backup plan? It’s entirely possible I’m worried about nothing but… I always am thinking, “what’s next”. Some people’s jobs make sense as a freelancer/online. Outsourced art and programming (to a lesser extent) is common in the games industry – design and production aren’t and those are my specialties. While I enjoy project management for a fun industry like gaming, I have my doubts about moving into something more mundane like software development or a pants factory or whatnot. If I’m not having fun, it will not work for me. Whatever I spend 40 hours or more doing has to at least make me feel proud/interested in the product. So… what else am I interested in to the point where I could envision myself doing them full time?

Writing. If I could make a living doing it, I would LOVE to write full time. I wasn’t sure if I could write on a schedule but coming up with something 3-4 times per week for the last year and some change (minus a couple weeks of crazy) has proven to me that I can indeed be self motivated and produce semi-coherent diatribe on topics that interest me. The next step for me gaining confidence here is plunging into NaNoWriMo. If I can get at least a crappy novel under my belt, I can evaluate whether I could consider doing this for a living. I feel the same way about it as I do a marathon. I just want to go the distance at least once to see if it’s for me.

Film/TV production. I think it would be a natural step, and Austin is becoming a mini-Hollywood as of late. It’s always something I’ve been interested in and I’m starting to have the contacts to at least consider the move. But it would probably be more of the same (crazy hours, stress, waiting around for things to happen, etc).

Then Zliten went and got me thinking last night… he was talking about doing the 30 minute workout circuit at Planet Fitness and then was trying to get out of it by saying he just wanted to come home. I made him a circuit that was just evil enough but not too crazy evil and he swore at me when he finished but looked like he had gotten a good workout. I’m always trying to tweak my workouts and food intake/ratios/etc. I’m horribly interested in what other people eat. I always feel like if I knew more, I’d be more successful at maneuvering through this healthy living thing, and I’ve pretty much exhausted the internet. Sure, occasionally, I happen upon something new, but usually, I find myself going – “Duh. Thanks captain obvious.” And then realize that to 99.9% of the world is not as bored as I has not had the time, attention, nor want for looking this up. As I have. And I want more.

I find myself now tentatively pondering about thinking about perhaps sticking my toe into the waters of academia again. Previously I’ve been very anti-school because my thesis ruined school for me and I’ve said for the greater part of a decade I was done with it forever. Maybe not. I also said I’d never wear bell bottoms and I rocked them yesterday.

The idea of going back to school at age 30, with a full time job, with other extra curricular pursuits (hi 2 u training for a marathon) is pretty damn daunting. The starting salaries of either a dietitian or a personal trainer don’t look promising. I would be taking a pay cut fo’ sho unless somehow my management skillz could get me into a supervisory job. The idea of actually having to recruit clients seems daunting as well. It’s most likely that this is NOT the job for me.

But the idea of something that could possibly done online or freelance sounds awesome. It frustrates me to no end having to show up for work some days when I don’t have a full day of work to do, and just sit here and wait because we are required to at least put in our 8 hours. And it’s possible that there may be a time in my life where a full time 40 hour a week job is not a viable option. I’ve done the traditional “go to work, do my time, get a paycheck, and go home” thing all my life. I’d at least like to see how the other half lives before I run screaming back into a position of stability, comfort, and regularity.

I think the first step (after I’m done with NaNoWriMo, of course, I’m already hearing the, “are you done writing YET? There are THINGS to DO…” voices from the peanut gallery) is to maybe check out some coursework books on nutrition and training. Give them a read. See if it’s anything I want to learn about. Go from there. The local U has degree programs in just about anything nutrition/fitness/exercise/training/etc I want to pursue so I’ve got that going for me.

I always thought I was going to keep climbing my way up. First take over a game. Then take over a department. Then – who knew, maybe run my own company some day. Now, it’s entirely possible I might get bitten by the draw of being an exec again, but I’m toying with the idea that maybe the ladder isn’t where I’ll be the happiest. Maybe it is. I just don’t know anymore. I’m sure this is just me being a little unenthused with my current task at work and day dreaming. But maybe it’s more than that.

I know some of you out there at least do/have done side jobs writing, training, maybe there’s even a dietician or someone that’s worked with film/tv/broadcast stuff out there. Talk to me. Did you leave your cushy corporate job for it? Did you regret it at all? Is there any way in hell to make a decent salary at it (think mid to upper 5 figures +)? How was the schooling? Did you go for a degree or certifications? What did you exactly do when you became gainfully employed? What did you love and hate about it? If not – what is your dream job? What steps are you taking to get there? How did you know what you were doing was right for you?

Don’t worry – I’ll get back to my regularly scheduled bitchfest in no time about the scale not budging and screwing up over the weekend and how Jillian can go eat a… um… carrot for the torture she hath brought upon us in Level 3.

More demotivational fun here!

This Is How I Do It…

By Quix

On November 4, 2009

In Uncategorized

I was stuck for a post today, so here is a random idea of something that may or may not be interesting that popped into my brain. I am fascinated by the way other people deal with, shop, cook, eat, think about, and otherwise act around food, so I figured I’d share how I roll with my food habits day by day for a typical week.

Saturday/Sunday morning:

Our food supplies are starting to get picked over. The easy stuff to make and/or the stuff we were really looking forward to has already been used up for the week, so it’s time to make a list. I plan out the lunches and dinners we’re going to have for the week, considering our schedules, and assign them to days. I try not to plan the same things for two days in a row (though it happens), I try not to plan the same meat two times in a row, and I try to make sure that Zliten is on board with the plan or it fails. Once that’s done, I come up with an ingredient list, and add anything else we need to the list (breakfasts, snacks, sodas, etc) and email it off to both my phone and Zliten’s phone so we have it for reference.

Buffalo Chicken Salad

Sunday:

It’s grocery shopping day! I *try* to get out by 9:30-10am so I can get most of it done while all the good folk are at church and the store is less crowded, but it doesn’t always work. First, I stop at the local, organic, hippie-dippie grocery store which is closest to my house. I get almost all my produce there, and other odds and ends. A lot of their canned and packaged goods are more expensive, but totally better quality, so I’ve stopped shying away from paying more there for it. Unless it’s ridiculous, like paying 4 bucks for a bag of frozen broccoli instead of a dollar or so for the regular grocery store kind. As I find everything, I mark it off the list on my phone. I have reusable bags in my car, but I often forget them.

Then I head to the larger, chain grocery store. This is where I pick up whatever I couldn’t find there – which usually involves lettuce and fruit (for some reason, lettuce and fruit both SUCK at the hippie place), frozen veggies, sodas, and anything I don’t want the super organic version of (like hot dogs/buns/frozen lasagna/etc). Oddly enough, I always end up spending more at the regular store even though I swear I buy less there.

Then, I head home and unpack the car, clean out the fridge (if things are starting to grow and/or I need the room), and put away the groceries. Oh, and Zliten has usually cleaned the kitchen and has dishes going by then. BTW – Zliten does NOT go grocery shopping with me. He is like a kid in a candy store and is very grabby – not that all of it is unhealthy, but we’ll come home with 3 different types of hot sauce and odd cans of beans and about 40 bucks of other things that aren’t on the list. I deviate too, but not NEARLY as much and usually when I remember things I needed that I forgot to list. Anyhoo, usually by that time we’re so hungry, we end up going out to lunch, heh. This Sunday, we went to a new little mexican place and it was yummy. I had a few too many chips, an enchilada, half a flauta, and the toppings of a tostada.

Sunday night though is usually a cook-y night. There is usually something I’ve purchased from the store that takes a little more prep time than I’d like for a weekday meal or something super healthy because we splurged for lunch. This week, we had made whole wheat spaghetti with a little bit of super low fat ground beef and meat sauce with tons of veggies because of the latter. Zliten cooked while I wrote and it was awesome.

Filet mignon, taterflowers (half cauliflower/half potatoes), and asparagus

Monday:

Zliten gets fed free breakfast at work so I don’t worry about him (seriously, they cater whole foods breakfast every day for the entire company… so jealous), but he was nice enough to put the beef stew ingredients in the crock pot before he left for work. I’ve been on a bar kick lately so I alternate between a pro-max bar or a zone bar (both about 15-20g protien, a little fiber, and 180-200 cal). This perks me up after a workout and keeps me full until lunch.

Around 1pm we both head home for lunch together (he works 1.5 miles away, I work 3 miles away – love it). On this occasion, we made black bean burgers, which I stuck into pitas and he put into tacos. I added a little low fat sour cream, salsa, low fat cheese, lettuce, olives, and onions and chowed down on 2 pita pocket halves.

Around 4pm I broke out my half pint of raspberries and ate the whole damn thing. Because they were just so good. An hour later, I grabbed a handful of pistachios and enjoyed those too.

Got home around 7 and the beef stew was smelling *ohsogood* in the crockpot. I tried to stave off the urge to dig in early since Zliten wasn’t home yet from the gym with some turkey pepperoni (I could tell I needed some protein as I hadn’t had meat for lunch), but I gave in and had an appetizer sized bowl of it. When he got home we ate about 1/3 of the crockpot each and saved the rest. Later, since I had the calories, I indulged in about 100 calories of halloween candy.

Italian Veggie Pasta Salad

Typical Weekdays:

Pretty much the same as Monday. If I’m skipping lunch, I’ll usually have a builder bar with more protein and calories for breakfast and either a soup and salad or Amy’s Indian meal for lunch. I always try to have a piece of fruit in the afternoon, but sometimes I’ll do veggie and hummus instead of nuts or sometimes if I’m having a caloric day I’ll skip it altogether. Typical lunches are sandwiches, leftovers from dinner, soup and a salad, garden burgers/hot dogs, and in a pinch microwave meals. Sometimes the salad bar if we really don’t feel like making lunch.

For dinners, we typically cook unless it’s a rare night out somewhere. This week, on the menu is chicken curry with veggies and saffron rice, grilled fish tacos, shepard’s pie (96/4 ground beef, mixed veggies and tomato sauce smothered with a thin layer of mashed potatoes and light cheese), and tuna veggie pasta (essentially a tuna helper with double protein and a heaping helping of frozen veggies.

Usually before dinners I’ll have a small healthy snack like jerky or turkey pepperoni (it’s a habit I’m trying to break, I just get home and it hits me how STARVING I am). Usually after dinner I’ll have a sweet of some sort (another habit I’d like to break, but it’s usually something of very little caloric impact if not something healthy like fruit). Very occasionally, instead of a bigger dinner and a sweet, I’ll have smaller food and few drinks.

Fridays:

These are a different animal. I’ll usually make sure to have a zone bar or something lighter because lunch is earlier (around 12:30). We go to pho, which is vietnamese noodle soup. It’s about 400 calories and amazingly awesome. I usually try to resist the egg rolls but about once every other month I’ll splurge and have one. I usually try to go light on snacks because we typically come home and either get somewhat healthy takeout, eat something quick, or fire up the BBQ and have some cocktails. This week I plan to take it mellow and stay in, but then again last week I was out and about being a party animal. So it varies.

Saturday:

We wake up and almost invariably go out to lunch even if I have weekend food planned. Now with Zliten working overtime not as much (if it’s just me I generally poke around and just find something to eat in the house), but generally we don’t want to be buggered cooking anything major. Saturday night totally depends – if there is something on the menu we are still looking forward to and we don’t have plans, we eat. If we’re looking for a quick meal before going out, we usually scrounge. If we don’t have major plans, we might head out to dinner somewhere or get takeout.

Rinse, and repeat.

How do you plan out your weeks? Do you fly by the seat of your pants? Batch cook everything on the weekend? Do you make a menu or do you just eat what you feel like each day? Like I said, I am totally curious about other people and food so comment away!

Pictures are foods we cooked over the summer…

In like a lion…

By Quix

On November 2, 2009

In Uncategorized

…and hopefully out like one too! I’m feeling more optimistic, more hopeful, and more… ready to take on the week than I have in a while. I’m sure it certainly helped that I got in a FULL workout this morning. I set some other things in motion this weekend that made me feel like less of a waste of space. I exercised a little bit more control than usual. And this morning, I am rewarded. Let’s break it down…

Doctor doctor:

I went in and got the blood work done – and pretty much everything showed up in the normal range! My overall cholesterol is 142, my fasting sugars are in the 90s, everything seems to be rockin’. The only two things that showed up ever so slightly outside were my white blood cell count (slightly low) and the size of my red blood cells (slightly larger). Apparently it was not anything to worry about, as they didn’t call me in to have a follow up, so I can rest assured that I am in good condition and rock and roll with my life.

When We Pretend That We’re Shred(ed):

Currently listening to L7 right now, so I had to go there (if you get it, YAY!). Ok, soooo… I shredded 5 times again last week. And life went on. I did level 1 on Monday and did level 2 the rest of the week. I’m not sure if it was that level 2 is actually EASIER or that going from just regular weight training to level 1 was just so much more of a system shock than level 1 to level 2 (I’m guessing that’s it), but I was just fine this week. The two days of rest started me out fresh, and while I definitely felt it working, I was not cripplingly sore. The lunge/squat and hold seems to not affect my legs as much as the in and out of it motion. The cardio I can tell is a little harder (though honestly – it’s still tame compared to speedwork/sprints/just about anything else I do). The abs – I’m torn. I’m again less sore than I was last week but I feel like it’s being worked pretty well so I’ll call it a tie.

I am still going to call it a great little workout if all I had was a half hour from start to finish, and much better “bang for the buck” strength training than my home strength workout that I’ve been doing for over a year now, but it will not be replacing my cardio any time soon.

Week In Review:

It was an interesting week.

Monday I just shredded and curled up on the couch and died (<3 u TOM). I also ate only about 1250 calories.

Tuesday I shredded and ran a fairly fast paced 5k, and ate around 1450.

Wednesday, I shredded, did a few DDR songs, and then went on a 30 minute walk with Zliten, and ate about 1600 calories (there may have been a margarita, oopsie).

Thursday, I shredded WAY early before the vampires got my blood to test, and then ATTEMPTED a 5 mile run and my shoes died on me 3.5 miles in. I walked about 1 mile between my warmup and getting home (of course they died on the FURTHEST point of my running course away from my house), so I think it was 4.6 in all. I ate about 1500 calories.

Friday, I got revenge by buying new shoes, shredding, and then rocking the 5 miles (5.3, actually). I ate a very healthy and lo cal breakfast and lunch (and then oops, forgot to track the rest of the weekend), and then snacked and indulged in some rum at night. I had INTENDED to actually order a garden burger and/or a salad at least at the bar, but I just ended up not being hungry enough to order my own food. Until about 3am, when I put the kiebash on food and resolved to just eat an early breakfast/lunch.

Saturday, I rested. Rum + no real dinner = headache. I snacked on very healthy stuff for breakfast/lunch (gardenburger, fruit, pistachios, popcorn) and then went with the parents out to dinner. I had a filet mignon, broccoli, and a salad with just a little bit of dressing. HOWEVER, I also had a roll or two. Then – we went out for Halloween and there was beer and snackies and I partook. But a lot less stupidly than last weekend.

Sunday, I erranded. We had mexican (which was not SUPER healthy but I did ok) for lunch and then got shopping and other randomness done, so while I didn’t get a workout, I definitely didn’t sit on my ass until after dinner, which was a healthy whole wheat spaghetti, super lean ground beef and meat sauce, with green pepper, onion, and broccoli. I had some frozy pineapple for desert along with 2 pumpkin spice kisses (um, yeah…can you say LOVE)

So the verdict? I slacked over the weekend a bit sure, but I didn’t go as nuts. I got more rest than normal. I didn’t track or weigh this weekend. My high weight last week? Let’s not even go there. My second highest weight? 158.8. Yeah. My low weight of the week? 155.2. Where am I starting this week? 156.2. For that, I say yippee, as it’s the lowest Monday weight since before the wedding.

The plan going forward = lots of morning workouting due to the time change. Trying to have a pretty lean and mean calorie week. Otherwise, it should look berry, berry familiar.

Monday: shred level 2 and 30 mins DDR in the morning, 1400 or less calories.

Tuesday: 5 mile run in the morning, shred level 2 at night, 1400 or less calories.

Wednesday: shred level 3 and yoga in the morning, 1400 or less calories.

Thursday: shred and 5k in the morning, 1400 or less calories.

Friday: shred level 3 and 30 mins DDR in the morning, 1500 or less calories.

Saturday: CLEANING. 1500 or less calories.

Sunday: rest or bike adventure. 1500 or 2000 calories or less depending.

We have planned a MELLOW week after the last few of crazy parties and general revelry. I am looking forward to it. I know by Friday/Saturday I might start feeling a little lame/cabin fever-y, but I think it’s for my own good.

NaNoWriMo:

Well, this sure snuck up on me. I had decided to participate and was going to write out an outline and then life got hectic and holy geez, yesterday was November 1st! I had 1667 words to write!

So I’ve determined that this month, my house is either going to get super clean and everything on my to do list is going to get done due to procrastination, or I’m going to write an effing novel. Blogging, I can bust out 1600 words in an hour while twirling a plate with one hand and directing an orchestra with the other while the house crashes to the ground around me. Fiction writing, I need a bit more order. We had to lunch. Then errands. Then groceries. Then laundry. Then other stuff. Once I got everything else settled and felt ready to write it was almost 9pm!

However, once I was in the zone, I rocked it. I got 1677 words done, and it’s not horrible. I am torn between coming up with a plan for the novel and just letting it flow. It’s sort of a fictional adaptation of earlier parts of my life (write what you know, right?), so it’s already has a shell of a story so it’s not as if I’ve just created some random characters meandering around my head. I think I will try tonight to just continue the flow tonight and not worry about more structure until I get stuck.

That’s about it for update Monday. Send me good thoughts this week so I can rock out the rest of the week and maybe start seeing more of those lovely low 150s. Who out there is doing NaNoWriMo? Anyone shredding? What’s new and exciting in November?

Adjusted Reality

“Reality can be beaten with enough imagination.” – Mark Twain

Month: November 2009

Bursting On The Scene

On Growing Up, and Things To Be When You Do…

This Is How I Do It…

In like a lion…

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