Productive Day

I’ve had a most productive day today. I got up and went for a run then got my morning coffee plus the latest issue of Runners World (featuring a few familiar faces). I finished an assignment for my editing class and did some work on a short story then played some Guitar Hero (finally got my PS2 off Andrew and got it set up). I’ve gone from not being able to get all the way through a song to actually finishing three songs! I rock!

Then I had to go into the city for my editing class. As I walked in, I got a phone call. Four days temp work. It’s only data entry which I hate but I can handle it for four days esp if it means cash. Which means I can buy a bike helmet and lock and get my bike home

I did my class and learnt all about the exciting world of infinite verbs then walked home and somehow got lost in Edinburgh Gardens (okay that’s not so productive but funny – I normally walk about the park if it’s dark but stupidly walked through the park and got disoriented for some reason).

Now I’m home and heating the stuffed capsicums I prepared this morning plus got my contributor’s copy of an anthology with one of my short stories in it.

All up, a most satisfyingly productive day.

Supergirl

I went to the gym and did a bit of a cardio circuit then headed to the weights room. Well either in the past few weeks of no weight work I’ve developed slayer strength or else the dumbbells were marked wrong (they had the weight in kgs marked on by hand so I’m guessing something is wrong there).

I picked up a 12.5 kg dumbbell to do my one arm rows and it felt like around 7.5 kgs. The most I’ve ever used for this exercise is 15 kgs and I figured since I’ve not done them for a while I’d need to go lighter. I ended up using 20 kgs weights according to them. Even with that exercise, I can’t remember it’s name but you lift the dumbbells straight up over your head and it hurts like hell, I had to use 10kgs and I normally struggle with 5.

It feels good to be doing weights again but I hope they were wrong. My dumbbell set at home only goes up to 12.5 kg and I can’t be buying new plates at the moment!

Tonight I cooked the yummiest dinner. I love brown rice but haven’t cooked it for ages cos I don’t want to be standing around our craphole kitchen forever waiting for it to cook, but last week I realised I could get it boiling then put it on to simmer and watch one episode of 24 (plus knit around 10 rows of my scarf) and the rice would be ready to eat. How’s that for multitasking?

Anyway the brown rice I cooked last week was so magically delicious that we ate about half of it on it’s own while waiting for the stirfry to cook so this week I decided to experiment. This is the recipe:

Kathryn’s Magically Delicious Brown Rice Thingy

Water
Stock cube
Soy sauce
Brown rice (around a 3:2 ratio of water to rice)
Assorted vegies chopped fine (I used onion, carrot, zucchini, broccoli and pumpkin)

Bring the water, stock cube and soy sauce to the boil then add rice and vegies. Cover and simmer for one episode of 24 or two episodes of the Henderson Kids (on dvd, if watching telly then adjust for ad breaks).

Silverbeet
Paneer cheese from the Indian shop.

Chop the silverbeet and cheese then stir through and heat. Add a dash of sweet chili sauce.

I’ve got heaps left over so I’m going to stuff it in some capsicums tomorrow night and cook them for dinner. I’m also want to experiment with roasting the vegies separately then adding them with fetta instead of paneer cheese.

Run

Yesterday I went for a run, the first real run in weeks. Not just a walk with some run breaks but proper running. It felt good. I’ve missed running.

I still haven’t had any problems with my leg. I think it’s finally on the mend.

I’m home from housesitting now. Still didn’t work out that coffee machine properly. Oh well, it’s not like I’m in the market to buy one any time soon. I did get the tv working though – there was a bit of a relay between pressing the buttons on the remote and it actually doing anything so that caused most of my confusion.

I’m going to the gym this afternoon. I’ve been a total slacker lately about the gym and have done no weights in weeks, because of my leg (because that totally stops me doing any upper body work). I’m worried about doing any weights on my legs because my muscles are so out of balance that I don’t want to do stuff that exacerbates that. I think I need to get a proper program done.

The knitting is going fine, slow but steady. My sister and I have been watching the Henderson Kids while we knit. I used to love that show back in the day and it’s hilarious now with all the ’80s fashions. My sister said last night that Ben Mendelsohn was the only cast member who is still around but I told that Kylie hasn’t done too bad for herself… lol!

Blerk

Yesterday I was in full force binge mode – starting with a trip to the market with some tasty treats. Things didn’t get really bad through until I came over to my friend’s place to house sit. I didn’t really plan my food too much but did bring over a chicken burger, figuring they’d have some vegies I could steal to cook up with it. Except they had NO vegetables at all, I’d forgotten they do all their market shopping on Saturdays. So instead of having dinner, I just picked at things… cheese and biscuit type things. Then I went to the supermarket and got more food – icecream and lollies and other shit. I just couldn’t stop eating. I’ve not been like that for ages and I have no idea why it happened. I guess it was partly boredom — I couldn’t even figure out how to use their tv (they have one of those digital boxes), partly overtiredness causing sugar craving and partly procrastinating because I have an editing assignment to do and didn’t want to start.

I ate so much food and didn’t even enjoy it. I even feel uncomfortably full this afternoon. Not good. Can’t do anything about it now except learn from my mistakes.

Lately I’ve been getting into some really bad habits – staying up later and later and sleeping in to make up for it. I want to start getting into a better routine.

At least my leg is getting better. I went back to the myotherapy clinic on Thursday and it made the world of difference. She worked a lot on the area where my spine meets my pelvis and it’s taken away much of the pain. I still feel a tightness in the area but it’s nothing near as bad as it was.

ps. I can’t for the life of me figure out this coffee machine. I had a crash course in latte making before my friend’s left but mine just comes out bitter and tasteless (kinda like me really). Any tips?

I went for a run yesterday, well mostly for a walk…

I went for a run yesterday, well mostly for a walk. I’m totally losing fitness at the moment and need to do something about that. I’m wondering if I should start going for shorter runs more often just until I’m able to cope.

I got a running program off Lee that looks really good and I’m keen to get started but want to make sure I can run okay before I start. I’m struggling to run 1 km and can hardly believe I did 15 km at the start of the month. Damn injuries.

I have to go to my myotherapy clinic this arvo but am waiting around for someone to ring me back because I might have a job interview later in the day. I wanted to walk into town and also go to the city baths for a swim and some weights work so am getting frustrated trying to work out how to fit it all in. Plus if I have a shower, he’ll surely ring back and I’ll miss the call. I’m sure he’ll leave a message though. Maybe I should just get organised to go into the city and wear my interview clothes to be on the safe side.

This weekend I’m house sitting for friends. Should be good – no distractions so I can get some writing done plus my editing homework. And they have a coffee machine, woohoo!

The days seem to go by so fast and it’s amazing how hard it is to get stuff done. We haven’t had a chance to go househunting this week at all. Even though we both aren’t working, my sister has lots of medical appointments, physio, etc and I have various things I need to be doing. It’s so frustrating.

Oh, I went to Lincraft on Tuesday and bought some wool. I’m knitting a scarf – it’s purple with blue and red stripes. The blue wool seems to be thinner than the other two colours even though it’s the same brand etc (they don’t say the ply on the wrapper but I assume it’s 8 ply). The past couple of nights, we’ve been sitting up until the wee hours of the morning, knitting and watching 24. I’m such a party girl! If I had a camera, I’d post a pic. While I was there, I got their newsletter thingo and there’s a jumper in it I want to knit. I’ve never knitted a jumper before but it looks easier and it’s really thick wool so should be a speedy project.

The knitting definitely helps cut down on snacking. On Tuesday night we down to get coffees and my fave chocobana balls then settled in to knit. I got so engrossed in my knitting through I forgot to eat it and still had it sitting there last night. That’s pretty much a miracle for me!

Crafty

Lately I’ve been having a problem with snacking when I watch TV so have decided the best way to fix that is by starting some craft projects to keep myself busy. Except I’ve realised it isn’t the watching TV that’s the problem. Mostly we watch TV on DVD and it’s the bit in between episodes where I feel compelled to get up and make a snack.

In the past few weeks we’ve watched three seasons of 24. That’s a lot of breaks and a lot of snacks. So far, this is my opinion:

Terri Bauer – too dumb to live. Seriously don’t go discussing “feelings” with the woman slept with your husband. Doubly so if they are an evil genius.

Kim Bauer – should stop pointing guns at people unless she intends using them.

Nina Myers – awesome!

Tony Almeida – hot. I don’t know how all these terrorists get caught because if Tony was my boss, I’d just sit around swooning all day.

David Palmer – should spend more time being all presidenty and less time wanting to snuggle with Jack Bauer.

Sherry Palmer – what the hell is going on with her hairline, it comes halfway down her face!

So last night I started my first project. I’d seen a picture in a knitting book of a beanie with holes in the top for you to put your pigtails through. I call it a Pigtail Beanie. So instead of actually knitting one, I got an existing beanie and unpicked part of the seam then resewed it with embroidery thread. It looks mighty awesome.

I’ve also been wondering if I could shoot someone if I had to. I really think I could. I’d like to learn to shoot. It’s been something I’ve been thinking about for some time. Does anyone know where there is a gun shooting place in Melbourne? I know there used to be one in Essendon but it burnt down so I don’t think it’s there any more.

Diet Advice

You wanna know what is the stupidest bit of dieting advice ever? When people say not to go to the supermarket on an empty stomach. What are you supposed to do? Stay at home and starve to death? Order in pizza so you can fill up before you go shopping?

I guess some people go to the supermarket before their cupboards are bare but that seems like a waste of time to me.

The best advice is to not go to the supermarket at all. Companies spent zillions of dollars getting their products placed in supermarkets so you buy crap that you don’t want. You can’t resist. They know how you think.

Shop at the markets where you get seasonal fruit and vegetables, not 6 month old crap from a cold room that goes rotten a day after you buy it. Where you can joke with the stallholders while they shout the specials of the day.

Shop at the butchers where you can buy the meat you want, not a prepackaged slab and where they grind your mince while you wait so you can see what’s in it.

Shop at the small stores where you don’t have to waste hours of your life in a line full of screaming kids because the shareholders would rather have an extra buck fifty in their pockets than pay someone minimum wage to open another register.

Sometimes I give myself challenges to see how long I can go without setting foot inside a supermarket. I think my record is three months. Then I had to take my sister to get cheap Lemsip. Supermarkets make you evil and cranky. They put things in stupid places so you can never find them and you wander aimlessly from one aisle to the next.

Supermarkets are the epitome of all that is evil in capitalist society. Resist. Fight the power. Eat food that’s been purchased with joy.

***

I went for my first run today since being injured. But, damnation, I woke up feeling sore today than I have for a week or so. Not sure if I slept funny or if it’s just the result of Thursday’s massage. Since I’d organised to meet Simon, I had to turn up. I did a km warm up while waiting for him but we mostly walked. All up I did about 5 km but only ran 2 km of that.

There’s a big part of me that wanted to really, really push myself. I think that part is closely connected to part that’s feeling hella bad about scoffing down all the chocolates Andrew brought over last night.

We went house hunting yesterday and found a nice place. We have to put in the application today so fingers crossed. I’d almost talked myself out of moving yesterday – thinking this place isn’t so bad – when the owner’s son turned up. I was in my room with the window and he didn’t know, just came down the side of the house and stuck his head in my window. I opened the front door for him and asked him to never do that again. He blabbered on with some bullshit story and told me if I wanted privacy, I should shut my blinds!!!!

I don’t even know why he was here – he said he wanted to show the empty room to someone but he had no one with him and the ‘empty’ room is full of (most likely stolen) office furniture. He went into the room and did something then left.

I fully believe that if I’d not been in my room, he’d have climbed in through the window. Now I’m worried about leaving my window open if I’m in another part of the house. I’m also worried about he’s storing in the empty room.

The sooner I get out of here, the better.

Do I Look Fat in This?

Yesterday I was reading a book called ‘Do I Look Fat in This?’ about body image and feeling fat. The basic premise is that ‘fat isn’t a feeling’, something I’ve heard before – when we say we feel fat, we mean we are sad or angry or happy, but can’t express that, so use fat as a catch-all for our emotional state.

I basically believe that but one thing bugged me. She reckons whenever we ask ‘do I look fat in this?’, we are asking for attention and validation. When someone asks you that, you should respond by asking them how they really feel. Now I don’t know about you, if I ask someone if I looked fat and they started asking me about my feelings, I’d feel like giving them a knuckle sandwich.

But then, I can’t remember ever asking if I look fat in something unless I want to know if I look fat (actually I’d be more like to ask – ‘do I look okay?’ as in do I have something wrong with my outfit that I can’t see for myself). Maybe I’m not a real girlie girl but I ask that question wanting an honest opinion before I leave the house, not reassurance.

The other thing that struck me while reading this book is that fat is one of the few words left you can use to hurt someone. Call a woman a slut or a bitch or princess nowadays and they are more likely to take it as compliment than an insult. So many words that were once had the power to insult have been reclaimed, how do you put someone down? You call them fat. Telling someone they are a bitch is weak, but change that to ‘fat bitch’ and you get a reaction.

Hair

One of the best things about being an older sister is that you can con your younger siblings into all manner of shit, just to see if they are gullible enough to fall for it. It never gets tired. Like the other day, I talked my sister into letting me cut her hair.

Trouble is, the last laugh was hers because, unbeknownst to myself, I’m an awesome hairdresser. She reckons it’s the best haircut she’s ever had!

Then I decided to cut my own. It’s a lot harder cutting your own hair than your sisters because you have to look in the mirror and do everything backwards. Considering I can barely reverse a car, that’s not an easy task. And when you’re cutting your own hair, it matters if you stuff it up! I was much more tentative about hacking into it and doing fancy layering shit when I did my own so it looks okay.

I can run again. I have to take it easy this week – about 50% of my normal training schedule – but I can do it. That makes me happy. I want to try to get some swimming done this week too. And keep up the walking.

Gorgeous

Have you ever been walking down the street, feeling rather good about yourself, and you’ve noticed some guy sitting at the lights watching you? You think to yourself – he’s totally checking me out because I’m hot.

A couple of days later, you feel like shit. You’re walking down the same street and see the same guy in the same car doing the same thing. You think to yourself – he’s grossing out because I’m a total bush pig.

Exactly the same situation, the only thing that changes are the thoughts in your head. The truth is he could be thinking you’re hot, he could be thinking you’re a bush pig, he could be staring idly into space while he thinks about shoes with zippers, he could be wondering where you got those fabulous shoes and do they come in his size.

So often we put thoughts into other people’s heads. We second guess their reactions to us based on nothing much, just a reflection of our own opinion of ourselves.

It’s easy to say we don’t care what other people think of us but I don’t know… I think it’s only human to want to be liked and admired and found attractive. It’s hard coded into our DNA, survival of the species and all that. At the same time we seldom get an honest opinion – some people (the good ones) are happy to tell us we look fabulous all the time, others can only see our faults. Even when you look in the mirror, your view is distorted – it’s so easy to focus on the bad bits or the good bits, not all the bits at once. And so much of what makes us look good can’t be seen in the mirror. It’s in the attitude, the way we move and the way we respond to others.

I read a quote from a wise woman the other day – ‘My only goal is dress cute and not look like everybody else’. Well okay, it wasn’t a wise woman, it was Paris Hilton. But, say what you like about the girl, she really does know how to flaunt what she’s got and convince the world through the force of her personality that she’s hot.

My goal for the week is to be gorgeous – convince myself and convince the world.