Jen FitzGerald's Blog, page 39

And so it begins...

The carb-fast started yesterday, so there's not much to report on that front just yet.

I did finally reach the weight window I wanted to be in, so I now have to add calories, i.e. additional snacks and/or meals, to the day. Which I have done. Might have to add more. I also cut back my time on the elliptical so as not to burn as many calories. Although, they're all in fat burn mode, which is actually the goal at this point--to burn the flab I have for energy, so that might not be the best course of action. But we'll see how it goes and fine tune later.

* * * * *

I should, with any luck, finish my WIP this week. Just as far as having the full story told and "on paper." It'll still need a good editing before I send it out to others, but the storytelling will be done. Then I can move on to the other project.

Speaking of the other project, after chatting with a friend and fellow writer, I'm going to have to issue a deadline for myself if I want to reach my goal of having this thing ready for publication in October. The sense of urgency may be helpful.

October because that's when my annual conference is held and, barring the complete closing of the hotel and/or the city, it is going on as planned. I will be there.

* * * * *

In some random hockey news, there's a new housing development being built in Las Vegas and the streets are all going to be named after the roster of the hockey team's inaugural year. I love the name I street I live on, but sign me up for hockey-related residential street names!!

* * * * *

Have a great week--

Have a Great Weekend--

That is all...

Feel the burn...

The legs are sore today! I found some lunges I could do, which happened Sunday morning and yowza. I'm feeling it today. Overall the targeting work outs are working, if only because they generally burn a goodly amount of calories on top of the elliptical/cardio workout. Visible results--i.e. less actual fat/flab on the body will take a little longer to see.

I'm easing into the carb fast this week by transitioning into some of the foods I'll be eating next week. Trying them out, see how they taste, see how they fill me up. I can already sense some adjustments coming.

* * * * *

Our state is lifting restrictions, but it'll be interesting to see how the COVID-19 curve does with all those people out in the world. I'll be holding off a little longer I guess. Not so much for my own health, but for those around me. I'd hate to transport it to someone at risk.

* * * * *

My trip to the grocery store yesterday was uneventful. Still no vitamin C and still no black thread, but everything else looked fine. Not always full shelves, but there was some product at least. I didn't check out the flour situation as I don't need any. I've stopped making banana bread / muffins since I don't need any more temptation than can be helped.

* * * * *

Progress is slow on the book file housekeeping project I started a couple of weeks ago. Creating the various files takes no time at all--it's reading through each book for word-smithing, finding any lingering typos, and standardizing things that takes the most time. I'll get at least one book a week done. Maybe two if I read shorter books.

* * * * *

Anyway, my weekend was pretty good. Hope yours was the same. Here's to a good and productive week.

Feel the burn...

The legs are sore today! I found some lunges I could do, which happened Sunday morning and yowza. I'm feeling it today. Overall the targeting work outs are working, if only because they generally burn a goodly amount of calories on top of the elliptical/cardio workout. Visible results--i.e. less actual fat/flab on the body will take a little longer to see.

I'm easing into the carb fast this week by transitioning into some of the foods I'll be eating next week. Trying them out, see how they taste, see how they fill me up. I can already sense some adjustments coming.

* * * * *

Our state is lifting restrictions, but it'll be interesting to see how the COVID-19 curve does with all those people out in the world. I'll be holding off a little longer I guess. Not so much for my own health, but for those around me. I'd hate to transport it to someone at risk.

* * * * *

My trip to the grocery store yesterday was uneventful. Still no vitamin C and still no black thread, but everything else looked fine. Not always full shelves, but there was some product at least. I didn't check out the flour situation as I don't need any. I've stopped making banana bread / muffins since I don't need any more temptation than can be helped.

* * * * *

Progress is slow on the book file housekeeping project I started a couple of weeks ago. Creating the various files takes no time at all--it's reading through each book for word-smithing, finding any lingering typos, and standardizing things that takes the most time. I'll get at least one book a week done. Maybe two if I read shorter books.

* * * * *

Anyway, my weekend was pretty good. Hope yours was the same. Here's to a good and productive week.

Friday Once Again...

I mentioned the carb fasting last week and I've been doing my homework in regards to how many carbs are in the foods I regularly eat.

My 5-grams-or-less rule might have to modified for one food item: my Greek yogurt. Most flavors have 10 grams of carbs with 3 grams of fiber for a net carb count of 7 grams. I'm not willing to give up the yogurt right now, so I think that's going to be the exception item.

And I also mentioned, I'll be upping the veggie intake mostly via salads. Now it's time to research a few salad fixins'. Few people like a plain salad and kale salad definitely needs a bit of sprucing up. Plus I'll have some calories in general to work with since I'm also trading in the daily (Stouffer's delicious) meatloaf for tuna.

My targeted start date for this fast is either May 10th or May 17th at the latest, and my goal is to fast for two full weeks.

The targeted exercise routines are still in trial and error mode, but we're getting there. My goal is to have at least six, but hopefully nine exercises for each body area to mix and match from.

My reward for fasting for the full two weeks, no matter the results, will be this:

 Not a whole gallon, though--just a pint. I can't wait.

* * * * *

Last week's trip to the grocery store was mostly fine. I didn't run into any shortages food-wise, but was unable to find Vitamin C tablets. I'll try again this week. The thing that really floored me (but maybe shouldn't have, considering the COVID-19 mandates for masks) was the complete obliteration of the fabric section and thread. All I wanted was a roll of black thread for my sewing/mending kit as my spool finally ran out, but the thread rack was decimated too. *sigh*

* * * * *

The publishing admin as well as the writing is coming along. I've made progress everyday and I'm looking forward to at least three full uninterrupted hours of writing bliss tomorrow morning.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Wishful Wednesday

Wishing I were in:

 ...Rockport, Texas
 ...Nashville, Tennessee
 ...Seattle, Washington
OR
...the American Airlines Center.
Hope you're having a great week.

A Time for the Out of Doors

It's spring in Texas, which mean you have to spend time outside while the weather is nice enough to do so. So I did.

I dragged the kitchen table, which is lightweight and on the small side, to the patio and sat out there for maybe an hour and made some progress on a cross stitch project I'd started last year. It was really pleasant and lovely.

And remember I mentioned that I used to feed the birds...? Well, DD asked me about it and asked me to check at WalMart during my weekly trip to see what they had. Well, they had 20lb. bags of wild bird seed for $7, so I bought some. :0)


So the bird feeder is back in place. I didn't see many birds yesterday, but it does sometimes take a day or two for the birds to realize it's there.

Now that pile of greenery behind it is a very large branch that broke off a very dead tree. It'll get chopped up soon and DH thinks he's going to get around to burning all the logs and branches and sticks we've got piled up around the yard--probably a summer long project...

In other news, the weekend was a productive success. I worked on my WIP early Saturday am as I'd planned and it was lovely! I had a Zoom chat with my writer besties and that was awesome too. And on Sunday, I spent some time working toward creating consistent types and looking files from book to book. Which meant some cleanup on aisles 5, 6, & 7! I didn't get far because of all the various things I found to tweak and then having to circle back to the books I worked on first to make sure they were they way I wanted them to be too.

Hope your weekend was relaxing or productive or whatever you were needing it to be.

Have a great week.

Admin...

First of all--Happy Friday. We've survived another week. The news sucks and I hate it. I have no idea what to believe. At this point all I can do or not do is what the government allows. Otherwise, I really have enough to keep me busy.

Second of all--I'm keeping busy.

Things at work have calmed down and, for me, have almost gotten back to normal. As a result, I've turned my focus on my publishing company, Knotted Hearts Publishing, if you didn't know. I started making sure I have all files for all book and that all books are consistently formatted, have consistent information, and that older books are updated with all books I've written rather than the few that were out at the time. I'm at nine at the moment!



Anyway, cleaning house in that area--going through all folders and documents to see what's old and what's still in use, what needs a quick update, what's a duplicate. It's cathartic to complete these kinds of tasks, so I'm going with it as I prepare to get back into writing mode. My office at home might need a quick de-cluttering too.

Third of all--I'm still doing well at losing weight. Despite the banana bread and mini-chocolates I eat. I do stay within my calorie count though. The targeted workouts are an adventure, I must say. I look stuff up online--I have a list for each body area, glutes, abs, arms, right now--and then I try stuff.

And then I discover that some of those specific exercises are not things I can pull off. For example, I can't do Alternating Forward Lunges right now. I just can't get that leading foot out far enough so that my knee isn't bent our over my foot. I can't stay balanced either. So it's been a lot of trial and error with regards to things I can do--because I'm also not that coordinated--and things I can't. There are also things that don't seem to feel like they're working. If there's no aching the next day, did I work hard enough? Did the exercise "work"?

All that aside...the day is coming--I've already planted the idea in my head--where I go on a carb fast for like two weeks. No more tortillas, no more pretzels, no banana bread, no chocolate. If a food has more than say 5 grams of carbs, aside from veggies, I don't eat it. I see a lot of salad and vegetables in my near future. :0) By doing so and keeping my exercise routine in place, my body will really trove those fat stores for energy, especially during exercise after I've already been fasting for nine hours.

And there will be a good reward for that fast--like a whole pint of ice cream at the end of it or something. Maybe pizza with a lot of my favorite toppings goodies. Maybe a bowl of a favorite cereal. I don't know yet.

Anyway--have a great weekend. Catch you Monday!

I'm in business!

Well, I'm in several businesses of my own, but what I meant was...

I got my writing app back on my laptop!! I can write and/or edit again, although that's probably not happening until the weekend.

In other news, my ninth book is on pre-sale and will be released on May 1st...



I don't have much else besides work going on, so we won't belabor the post. :0)

Hope you're well.

It's been a week...

And it's been a week...

Work has been crazy busy and needed all hands on deck, so I haven't had much opportunity to do more than my job.

But here it is Friday again and yet again, what a relief. I guess it's time to catch up a little.

Easter was uneventful as it has been since the kids all grew up and moved out. I did buy one small goody each for DH and DD and that was the extent of things.

The weather has been up and down and we've had late cold snaps--which is nothing to complain about really considering my family in Colorado and Nebraska both got snowed on. I am, however, definitely ready for the super cold to get lost.

The food logging continues to pay off. The weight loss has slowed, but is still happening. I have about four pounds to reach my target. I also began my targeted workout routines. My abs, arms, and glutes are getting their workout and have been making their presences known the following day. The glutes routine might need some tuning as it's the top of my thighs complaining, not my behind.

As I was writing this, DD called to say our local WalMart had 4-pack of toilet paper again, so yay. Not that we need it with the two 12-packs we've bought in the last couple weeks, but it's nice that some things appear to be getting back to normal.

Speaking of getting back to normal, our governor will be announcing his plan to re-open business across the state. Texas has been lucky, although we still need to exercise caution so as not to trigger a second wave.

Digging into the photo archives last week was fun, so let's do it again...

I miss Friday Night Lights with Sonshine.
DD and I need to make another trip to the zoo--once things are reopened.
Ah, that my backyard still looked so neat and tidy.I had to give up feeding the birds at some point, but the bird bath is still there.The bed itself is all overgrown however.
Have a great weekend and stay safe.