The Balance Between Fun and Responsibility

Last week was a busy and exhausting week. My natural tendency to pull away from people showed itself, and yet I pushed through it to be social. Some of that social interaction wore me down. Most of it was fun though.

In gaming, my halfling rogue was turned into a vampire, which made me sad. My werewolf saw combat, which frustrated me (not the story so much as the game mechanics). I’m also kind of a sore loser, even though that really shouldn’t apply to this sort of gaming.

I also played a game called Superfight and found out that it’s tough to beat someone or something that has been turned into a poltergeist.

In knitting, I realized I really need to learn to read a pattern better. I read the length instructions for a hat wrong and ran out of yarn. I figured I’d just use some matching scrap, but it wasn’t working for me, so I completely fudged the end of the hat. I suppose it doesn’t look horrible, but it drives me nuts because the original pattern would have been super cool looking. I’m going to try that one again. Some day.

Thursday was the highlight day of the week.

1. I paid off all my credit cards. Doing this involved going against what many a financial advisor would advise. I cashed out my previous 401k. It wasn’t a decision I made quickly or easily, but when it came down to it, I wanted to free up money to comfortably pay Jon’s student loans each month. I’m glad I did it, even if it means pushing retirement back.

2. We bought new games. What better way to celebrate financial responsibility than to go out and spend more money. I have no regrets. We picked up Smallworld: Underground and Betrayal at House on the Hill from our new game store. They were 2 games we’ve been wanting and we know they’ll see play.

3. I had my 90-day evaluation at work. It doesn’t feel like I’ve been there for 90 days. Most of the time, I feel like I just started. The eval was good. I’m right where I should be. I was fairly stressy about a week ago with regards to my speed and quality, but at the urging of my boss, I stopped stressing and all has been well since.

The weekend has been lazy enough to offset the . Snow and cold kept me inside watching movies, listening to podcasts, and knitting like a maniac. I finished an easy project and then moved on to a not so easy project. Not sure if that was a great idea considering I’ve been knitting more in social situations, but I realize I do have the power to just start a different, easier project.

My first cowl.

Onward to finish off the weekend and prepare for the inevitability of Monday.

A.

Sunday Productivity and a Hat for Me

The past few Sundays have been lazy. I haven’t felt too guilty about it, but some weekends it’s nice to get something accomplished. Yesterday I managed to get things done around the apartment, but we never ventured out, which is kind of silly considering it was nice yesterday and today was super cold. But sometimes things just work out that way.

A smallish chunk of time was spent at work today making up hours ahead of time for volunteer meetings I have this week. One would think working on your day off would be rough, but not so much because I find my job fun most days. Which doesn’t mean Monday will be easy, because it never is, but at least I can relax this week when it comes to making up time.

I called my brother to wish him a happy birthday. I’ve officially had a little brother for 32 years. Time flies.

I went to Stitch n’ Bitch tonight. I took a bit of a hiatus for a few months because I wasn’t knitting at all, but I’m getting my groove back. Our location rotates, so tonight we were at Hastings Hardback Cafe which is kind of my go-to location for everything because I like their coffee and I’m comfortable there. And wouldn’t you know it…I finished a project.

I’d originally set out to knit this one for my nephew, but honestly? I think I really like it for myself. I don’t wear hats well, but I think this one looks kind of cute and it’s comfy on my head. So he’ll get the next one I do, which I went ahead and cast on for this evening. I’d better prepare myself…8 1/2 inches of 2 by 2 ribbing is coming.

I’m finishing off the night with some blogging and movies, including The Dark Crystal and Zoolander, though I probably won’t finish Zoolander because I’m getting sleepy. But I’ve seen it about 22 times, so no biggie.

You might be wondering why I’m blogging all of a sudden after going for months with nothing. I have no answer. I go with what I’m feeling and for some reason, I was in the mood to blog tonight. I even have a few scheduled for the next couple days…so yay again for Sunday productivity!

A.

Hardcore Mental Training

Tomorrow marks the last day of my first week at the new job. This past four days have been intense, to say the least. My brain is fried, but in the best way possible. It’s information overload, but when it comes to training, it’s the only way to be.

My only issue? I can’t master everything in my first week! It’s  uncomfortable not knowing things, and that discomfort was what kept me from pursuing new things in the past. I’ve been watching people who make this stuff look so easy, and then I get in front of the computer to try it and I can’t brain enough to remember minor html code. But I do know that mastery comes with time, and I just have to be patient. I’m optimistic that the day will come when I’ll make it look that easy. Like a boss.

Though I will never have such luxurious hair as this.

Besides work, I’ve managed to get things done in the after hours as well. I’ve become a fan of little routines and a constant to-do list to help myself stay on track. The 20 minute timer on my UfYH app has been keeping me rolling. If I turn on the timer, my mental switch flips and tells me to work. So I work. It also helps that the fog of NaNoWriMo is over, so I feel mentally ready to take on other things. Go figure.

Other updates:

Walking – It’s coming along slowly but surely. I’ve walked to work the past two mornings but then drove in the afternoon. The walks are uncomfortable and I’m irritated by that, but I have to keep pushing. The plan is to walk to and from work at least once a day for the next week, then try to up it to walking with no driving. I’m also trying to get up every thirty minutes at work and I currently have a goal to go up the stairs at least four times a day (I’ll bump that up in a couple weeks as well).

My car – My car is a hot mess right now. It’s making weird noises and leaking out of places. Luckily it gets us from point A to B, but we won’t be making any major trips in it until it gets looked at. I have a feeling everything wrong with it is super minor and that the cold is just doing a number on it. Which is probably why I’m not overly stressed about it.

Hobbies – I’ve been doing some knitting and reading. I’m trying to do more reading so I can get caught up on all my NetGalley reviews before the end of the year, but the book I’m reading right now is slow. I’m taking a break from writing this month. Gaming will resume again next week (everything got sidetracked by November). Haven’t been in the mood to bake, but maybe with the holidays coming, that might be a thing. Everything else I ever do is taking a back burner right now until I feel like resuming. If you can call TV watching a hobby, J and I have been watching Season 16 of The Amazing Race, so that’s been fun.

Also, got the email today that I was approved for a new VoxBox from Influenster, so I’ll be doing some reviews shortly. All of the VoxBoxes have been good, but I’m particularly excited about this one.

Thank goodness tomorrow is Friday!

A.

 

Health Updates and March Goals

It’s 7:30 on a Saturday morning and I’m awake. In fact, I’ve been awake and up since 6:15. So weird. Despite what the experts say about waking up at the same time every day, I love sleeping in on the weekends. I suppose, though, that being up early and getting some stuff accomplished is okay too. You know what else is okay? Naps. And I plan on taking one this afternoon, sometime after going to town to workout and buy groceries and before the snow that we’re supposed to get this weekend hits.

I thought I’d do a health and fitness post this morning since there’s not a whole lot else going on, and because I could use a motivation boost. I said a few posts back that one of my monthly goals was going to be to get back in the gym three days a week. I didn’t meet that goal. I still managed to fit in exercise by taking walks, but there were a couple weeks I only made it to the gym once.

Over these past few weeks, I’ve struggled with activity, meaning I’m not getting enough of it. I can pinpoint a few reasons why:

1. The weather – Sure, it’s a poor excuse, but when it’s cold, I just want to be comfortable, and my idea of comfort is to be at home, warm, and snuggled in my recliner. The chilly temperatures already make me feel stiff and sore, so even though I know that exercise actually helps alleviate that, my brain instantly says “Why would you want to give your body more discomfort than it already has?”

2. Mental fatigue – Once again, I know the science that says exercise helps with mental fatigue, but by the end of the work day, I’m so drained (and sometimes discouraged), that I just don’t want to be around people. So I avoid the gym, and if it’s too cold, I just head home and indulge in sugar therapy instead of sweat therapy.

3. High workload – This one doesn’t have so much to do with making it to the gym as it does with my drop-off of walking activity on breaks and lunch. With the recent change in position, I’ve spent several days over the past couple weeks skipping my lunch hour and eating at my desk so I can fit in some more work. I hate to leave things when I’m on a roll, even though I know it tires me out and my brain needs that break. I’ve given in to the “I can get one more thing done” mentality, so it’s cut down on the twenty to thirty minute walk I was fitting in on my lunch hour. As for breaks…

4. Smoking – …I’ve been spending them with co-workers having a stress relief puff. I have a history with smoking. I used to love doing it, and I still enjoy a cigarette if I’m drinking. I find that the act of smoking and connecting with people helps calm my nerves during times of high stress. Even though I haven’t been drinking, I have been experiencing some anxiety, and this has been my outlet. Yes, I just admitted to trading in a really healthy habit of walking on break for a really unhealthy one of smoking on break.

5. Hydration – My problem with hydration has been a lack of. I’ve been craving soda and sweet coffee drinks. I’m not surprised when I feel sluggish and experience ankle cramps when I exercise because I know I haven’t drank enough water.

While these are all issues I’m relating to physical activity, the fact is that exercising also helps my mental and emotional health, both of which I really need to focus on as well to avoid work burnout and to maintain the level of productivity I currently need.

One of my March goals was to start a strength training routine again, and while I still plan on doing that, I’m also making it a point to face the above listed issues head on. While I can’t do anything about the weather, I can control the other things to an extent.

So the rest of March goals are going to be to handle these issues now and get back on track with the healthy habits I’d started at the beginning of the year: walking on breaks, stopping the smoking, taking lunches, and drinking a lot of water. If I can tackle these and reset my attitude, I think I might set some more challenging goals for April (C25K, I know you’re waiting for me).

A.

 

 

 

Work, Homework, and Working Out

After blogging fairly regularly for the last several months, it definitely felt weird to go a week without putting down a post. At the same time, most nights I was too brain tired to formulate a complete sentence by the time I got to the bloggy part of the night. I was using my words for book reviews I guess. Which I enjoyed doing, but I figured it was time to do an actual update.

Sadly, I’m a little hazy on singular events that happened over the past week. The weekend was fun. Jon went out of town, so I did some self pampering: walking, gym, art opening with wine, ears pierced, manicure, and quality time with friends. I introduced one crew to the movie Secretary and hung out with Forsh and Baby Forsh for some Bubble Guppy/social time.

Manicures are one of my favorite things that I don’t get often enough.

I missed Jon, but I definitely needed the pampering, and though I’d planned to do some work over the weekend to get caught up, I ended up giving my brain the rest it deserved.

Work has been pretty whoa. Remember when I mentioned I was transitioning to a new position? Well, the transition has happened, but the position itself has changed a bit, at least temporarily. I’m doing several different things, including coordinating some projects and diving into some marketing type stuff.

It’s a little overwhelming.

I’m hanging on and trying to focus and manage my time, and I think I’m doing okay for the most part. There are a few things I’m trying to get a handle on, but I think I just have to roll with it at this point. Some of it is fun. I never thought I’d enjoy doing html updates, nor did I think I’d be attempting to head up a social media campaign. But I’m doing both, along with a bunch of other things, and I’m pretty excited.

Outside of work, I’ve been finishing up a Coursera course and trying to maintain a regular schedule with finishing the lectures, quizzes, and assignments. Writing has taken a backseat to everything, as has editing, though I think I’ll be able to work on those things a little this week.

I’ve managed to hold on to an exercise routine, though I haven’t fully met my gym goals, nor have I taken the steps I initially wanted in training for a 5k. Still, I’m not going to beat myself up over it. As long as I’m staying active, I’m on the right track. Tonight we walked from our house to Subway and back. It was a pretty decent walk. There was a hill that kicked my butt, but I made it without too much trauma. As far as goals go, I’m keeping my current ones in my head, but in March, Jon and I are going to try to get back to doing some strength training.

I’m a little sore tonight, so I’m going to shower and lay down with a book for awhile. The plan for tomorrow is to be wide eyed enough to tackle some of the projects on my to-do list and put out some more fires. Fingers crossed.

A.

Snow Days, Reader Problems, and Our Anniversary

Yesterday, I had a legitimate snow day off work. At the time, it seemed pretty cool, other than the fact that it snowed all day and we were stuck at home. I managed to get some work done from home, but going in today (after a four hour delay to recover and shovel out of the white stuff) was rough. That day off threw me for a loop, messed with my deadlines, and gave me a stack of work that needed immediate attention. So yeah, great in theory, not so great in practice.

Having said that, having the day off did give me the chance to completely devour Cress like I wanted to, and devour I did. Was it good? Heck yeah, it was good. I’m so contrary though. I wanted to read it all in one sitting, and then I did, and now I wish I would have made it last longer because I loved it so much. In hindsight, I should have stretched the fun out over a few days. But every time I told myself to do that, I couldn’t put it down. Reader problems, man. Also, now I have to wait for the fourth book, but at least I’ll have an excuse to re-read the series before that one comes out (like I really need an excuse. Whatever. I do what I want!).

Today was our four-year wedding anniversary. Go Team Us! We didn’t do anything celebratory other than get dinner at Subway, but to be honest, we never need a reason to do things together. We don’t celebrate Valentine’s Day either. However, as may have become apparent for anyone who’s read this blog long enough, we often randomly decide we need to have a nice dinner out together, or we’ll go walking together, or we’ll take a trip together….the theme is that we do a lot together for no other reason than we have a blast, and I’m completely okay with that.

We made it to the gym, which was a challenge because I really didn’t want to go. My back has been sore for a few days, and the cold makes me want to hibernate. I’m always glad afterwards, though. I started an audiobook to listen to when I walk and when I’m taking it easy at the gym (thanks, Humble Bundle). I’ll do a review when I’m done, but it’s making me a little uncomfortable. It’s creepy, yet I almost think it’s supposed to also be slightly romantic? I’m intrigued.

I’ve also decided to go ahead and start revising an older writing project, one that is actually one of my favorites. I send the first draft for an alpha reading and will start doing active revisions once the feedback is in. Trying not to do too much stuff at once since I don’t want to burn out on revising, but it feels good to move these projects along.

Other things accomplished today: watched some Coursera videos, started organizing and packing the back room, and finished my grocery list.

Now time for some well deserved sleep.

A.

Quiet Days and Post-Christmas Indulgence

Work today was weird, but in a good way. There weren’t very many people in the office (there weren’t many people in the whole building, to be honest), so it was really quiet. I managed to get a bunch of stuff done with a minimum of stress. Definitely my kind of Friday.

However, it was also a very indulgent Friday. I took an early break to get Starbucks for me and some others in the office who were craving a treat. I had failed to get breakfast before coming to work, so I was starving. My choice of treat from the ‘Bucks was a creme brulee latte and a ham, egg, and cheese sandwich. To avoid any delays or limits in the drive thru, I went in to place the order and was greeted by this guy:

Then for lunch…which arrived way sooner than I expected due to the flying of time today…I ventured out and picked up a Little Caesar’s Hot ‘n Ready and some crazy bread for the few of us who were feeling the pizza action. It was delicious, but it was definitely feeling.

I walked on my breaks, but that didn’t seem to help overmuch with the fullness. My current thing is walking and reading. My Kobo Mini is the perfect size to carry in my hand, and since I’ve gotten better at walking, I can now do it on autopilot, which means I can read and still navigate the halls. I’m actually finding this enjoyable, which is good, because it means I’m apt to take more walks and get more steps. I haven’t tried it on the treadmill yet, though I’m sure it would work fine. I wouldn’t even have to hold it, I could just prop it up on the panel. Maybe I’ll try this soon. Might be good for “recovery” days, because…

…I’ve decided to go ahead and try the Couch to 5k program again…this time training to RUN. I’m kind of excited about this.  Though I wanted to get the Zombies, Run! 5K app, I think I’m going to hold off and keep it simple for now. I have the free app that Jon and I started doing when I was upping my walk endurance, and I’m going to make some playlists specifically for training. I’ll still do the Zombie missions on most recovery days, and the reading and walking (or reading and doing the sit down machine) will help change things up so I don’t get bored.

I realize this isn’t going to be easy, but I’m up for the challenge. I mean, heck, I couldn’t even walk at the beginning of 2013, and anytime someone said the word “run,” I pretty much figured that was never going to be something I’d do. But I’ve managed to surprise myself by being able to run the zombie chases. Maybe by the end of 2014, I’ll be able to run a short distance.

I figure that even if I run slow, it’s still more fun than walking. And like walking, I’ll slowly but surely increase the length of time I can run at once, since that’s kind of how these things work. We don’t start out awesome, but we can eventually get to a point of awesomeness. My first goal will be to run a mile without stopping. Right now, that goal seems pretty impossible, so just wait until I reach it…that moment is going to get its own reward and blog post.

To kick off this decision, I went to the track today and did the first day of the C25k program, just to get an idea of where I’m starting from. As expected, I’m starting on a pretty low rung of the running ladder. I managed to get through half of the thirty minute session before I reverted to just walking. The program is five minutes of walking to warm up, then alternating sessions of a minute of running and a minute and a half of walking. At the halfway mark, I gave up running for a couple reasons. One, there was ice on the track that I had to be careful of, especially because I was out there without Jon tonight. Two, my ankles were cramping (I really need to figure out a good way to relieve that). Three, for a healthy dose of TMI, I really had to go to the bathroom and since the bathrooms at the rec center aren’t open, I had to be careful of how I moved. I mean…I really had to go.

Walking through the parking lot lake also added to the discomfort, since my feet were nice and wet.

As I said, I’m starting off slow, but I’m actually proud of being able to do that first session for fifteen minutes. Now the first short term goal is to be able to do it for a full thirty minutes. Once I can do that, I can progress into the actual program. Go me! Even that little bit of running was effective. My legs are really sore tonight.

I showered right after getting home, and even though I didn’t check off much of my to-do list today, I think I’m ready to lay down and read for a little while. Tomorrow is supposed to be nice, so Jon and I are going to Topeka. We have to do a little bit of clothes shopping anyway, so we’re making a day of it. We’re going to the zoo and then probably to walk around Gage Park. We might do some geocaching, we might see a cheap movie, we might just cruise around and find ways to get into trouble. Either way, I’m really looking forward to getting out into some good weather.

A.

Taking Time for Some Serious Business

I normally keep things pretty light on this blog. It’s more of an account of general things and a highlight of the best times. Because let’s face it, when we do anything online, we’re showing the world the goods things, even if things aren’t always bright and shiny. I will say that most of my bright and shiny stuff is completely legit. On a regular basis, I’ve been blessed and/or lucky enough to lead a great life. Even the bumps aren’t as bumpy as they used to be or could be.

These past couple weeks have dealt me a higher dose of stress than normal, and I’m feeling it hardcore. I also don’t think I’m handling it well, which in turn causes me to evaluate not only every little thing I say or do, but it causes me to dwell on everything everyone else says. It’s strange to have a constant paranoia of “What did they mean by that?” Normally, I let those things slide off, but it’s hard to do when I feel like I’m not doing things as well as I want.

Most of this stems from work. We’re at the end of the year, and this year is bringing the transition I’d talked about in a previous post. While I’m still excited about making this transition, the training and the new duties have thrown a wrench in my routine, so I’m struggling to maintain my current duties while still proving I can do the new ones. When I first started this changeover, I felt unstoppable. But each day seems to chip away at that positivity. I know I’ll eventually embrace this job and find my groove, even with a high workload, but until that happens, I’m having a hard time dealing with all the feelings of being incompetent and of letting people down.

But it’s not just work, it’s things outside of work, too. For one, I’m not a holiday person. I’ve definitely tried not to be a humbug this year, and in some ways, I’ve succeeded. I went and enjoyed the heck out of myself at our work holiday party. I wrote a fun holiday mad lib for my mom to share at her work party. This weekend, I plan on going to see the town’s light displays and maybe stop for a hot chocolate treat somewhere. But everyone else is sending Christmas cards and buying gifts…and I’m not. I never do, not really. I don’t know why…maybe I’m selfish, maybe I’m lazy, but I’ve just never been a big gift giver or card sender. It’s never bothered me before, either. But this year, I feel like a Christmas failure.

Now that Jon is out of school (after his last exam tomorrow), I’m apprehensive about what’s going to happen for him with regards to jobs. I’m also losing interest in things I usually enjoy, and I’m considering dropping some of my regular social engagements because my heart isn’t in it. I know this all sounds like depression, and I’m sure that has something to do with it, but it’s not a permeating sense of not wanting to do anything. I’m still enjoying exercising, though even that’s sometimes overshadowed by my desire to do things my body is not yet ready to handle. I love visiting with my friends, I love spending time with Jon, and besides finding a book that I’m completely into right now, I’m super excited about my January reading project. Heck, I’ve actually done revision work on my novel. I’ve never gotten far with revision work.

It’s difficult to have moments during the day that are so high with frustration that I have to try really hard not to cry. I usually fail at this, by the way. Even when these are followed by a moment of satisfaction when I realize I’ve figured out something new, or solved a problem, it’s still kind of a crazy roller coaster, and it’s making me tired.

Having put all that out there, I do want to say that I know this is all going to blow over, and I’ll eventually have control over things again. All these dramatic moments are really just that…moments. In the scheme of things, I know that in six months, all of this will have been forgotten in lieu of another drama, another stressor, and other good and happy things that happen. Until then, I’m going to roll with it as best I can. I apologize now to anyone I may “let down” over the next few weeks. I swear, I’m not doing it on purpose. And even though I’m a humbuggy Christmas fail, I’m going to do enjoy each day of the season and beyond as best I can.

Thanks for listening.

A.

 

 

Holiday Party 2013 and Saturday Recovery

Last night was our work holiday party, and I’ve spent today recovering. It was a lot of fun. I let loose and decompressed after a stressful week, so I needed today to rest and recuperate.

When the work day ended, I took Jon to the game store. I’ve dragged him with me to parties in the past, but I let him out of it this year. I knew I’d want to dance and socialize, and I didn’t want him to be bored and awkward, so I flew solo for the evening. My first stop was to get ready at my friend and co-worker’s house. My outfit wasn’t overly dressy, but it was different from what I’d worn during the day, and I actually put on some light makeup.

We had a couple glasses of wine before heading to the Hilton Garden Inn for pre-party cocktails. We mingled and visited with people while we waited for them to open the doors to the party room. Everyone was given two free drink tickets, so I had another glass of wine. When they finally opened the doors, we grabbed a table with all the report coordinators a friend from the business office. They started the lines for dinner shortly after that, and our table was in the second group called.

Delicious!

Speeches and a company update from our president followed dinner, and those were followed by more drinking and some dancing. I don’t drink often, but I definitely enjoyed some wine and beer last night. It was made easy by the bottles of wine they put on our tables. I’m also not a smoker, but I used to be, and when I drink I still have a tendency to join my fellow smokers for a cigarette. Luckily, I don’t seem to develop an addiction, and it will likely be several months before I smoke again, but when taken in the context for a party, I love me a cigarette. I didn’t think it was that cold outside, and the view from the hotel was very festive.

Going to walk through these lights next weekend.

True to my plan, I spent much of the night dancing, taking rest and water breaks as needed, but definitely holding my own on the “shake a tailfeather” front. It was so much fun! I love dancing, I just never get a chance to do it. This year, the music was good, and though there wasn’t a huge group of people on the dance floor, the group that was there was a good one.

Jon got a ride to the party as it was closing up. The festivities ended close to midnight, and after making sure my friends got home okay, we made the drive to Wamego. The weather had forecasted some nasty weather, but it never hit us, so our drive home was easy going. I fell asleep shortly after we got home and slept in this morning.

When I finally did get up, I showered and had some Gatorade and a Luna  bar for breakfast. As I’d expected, I was sore, so I spent most of the day chilling in my chair and working on knitting projects and solving mystery cache puzzles. However, the sunny skies outside eventually got the best of me, and Jon and I went out for an early evening walk before the sun went down. Because I was still hurting, I considered this a little bit of active recovery to get my muscles and joints moving. We walked several blocks, including a trek downtown where we stopped and had an early dinner at Barleycorns.

Grilled turkey panini and baja chicken soup

On the way back home, we stopped to get drinks and snacks for the evening, then came home to rest some more. It was a pretty leisurely stroll, and I think the only reason I was hurting when I got home was because I’d been hurting anyway. That dancing, man…my hips and lower back are probably going to need another day to right themselves again.

I talked to my mom tonight and got some information for a little writing project I’m going to do for her. I’ve been playing some cheesy Christmas movies, but I’ve been hanging out on the internet for the most part. I’m going to lay down early tonight and get some reading time in before calling it a day. I hope the weather is good tomorrow. I want to find some caches and hit the gym before gaming, and the plan is to go grocery shopping tomorrow night as well.

Now, it’s time to pop some more ibuprofen. Cheers!

A.

Training and Office Shenanigans

It doesn’t feel like Wednesday. In fact, most of the day I’ve been stuck on the fact that it’s Tuesday, when it’s not. This week is flying by. Even today went fast and it wasn’t a good day for me. This morning, I let the stress of things get to me, and I didn’t seem to have the mental capacity to get as much done as I like to. I have one of these days at least once a week, sometimes twice. Maybe it’s a brain defrag, but it’s kind of uncomfortable and makes me feel bad. By the end of the day I was rolling with it, but up to that point, things were kind of rough.

I lost track of time last night, and by the time I realized I hadn’t blogged, I was too tired to think. It was another busy day with nothing major to note. Jon’s ankles were hurting, so he was going to take a rest night and I was going to walk the track.  But when I got out there, the parking lot was a sheet of ice, and I wasn’t brave enough to trek across it, especially since I was out there by myself. My balance still isn’t great, and I have a fear of falling on the ice. So it ended up being a mellow night at home. I made up for it today, though.

My day started with some office shenanigans. Even being in a low mood, this cracked me up, as do the daily events in the lives of our resident elf and nutcracker.

Our team really enjoys their breaks.

Later in the day I did some training as part of my job transition. Some of it involved working with html code, a subject that makes me think of Jon and his infinite love of all things web design. My work won’t be that detailed, but what I learned was pretty interesting.

Besides the elf and training, another highlight of the day was that the new app from Six to Start came out today. I’ve been waiting for The Walk to come out since I first heard about it a couple months ago, and I bought it right away, considering it my Christmas present (one of them at least).  Since Zombies, Run! has done wonders in keeping me motivated to move more, I’m hoping The Walk gets me up more at work and gives me incentive to utilize my breaks and lunches for some extra step time. It did the trick today. I finished the first chapter/mission at work, walking on first break and half of my lunch.

As for the app/game itself, so far I like it. There are still a few things I have to figure out, but it looks like I can run it at the same time as Zombies and I can use it with a radio app if I’m tired of my playlists. At the moment, I can’t use it on the treadmill because it acts as a pedometer and tracks the walking you do. I’m still nervous on the treadmill, so I still hold on to the rails while walking. At some point though, maybe I’ll be comfortable to let my arms swing and I’ll wear my armband.

I was able to test this out after work when we went to the gym and on top of my work walking, I got another thirty minutes in: twenty on the treadmill and then several laps around the track. We cut it short to make it to a geocache event in one of the local parks. It was a quick flash mob, so we weren’t there long, just long enough to sign the book, do a quick geocache toast, and visit with some fellow cachers. It was cold, but fun. We each got another cache container, so at some point in the near future we’re going to have to hide something. Before we left, we were visited by a cop who’d seen the cars and the people and wondered what was going on.

I wasn’t feeling up to working on any knitting projects tonight, so I took the evening off in favor of working on some writing. I’ve been using my UfYH timer to do twenty minute stretches of revising my novel between ten minute breaks on Pinterest and Twitter. This last twenty minute stretch is devoted to finishing this post. Then it’s off to shower and read before getting some sleep.

Word on the street is that we’re going to get some nasty weather this weekend, possibly in the form of freezing rain on Friday. Do not want! I’m looking forward to our work holiday party, and I don’t want the weather to jack up our plans. I’ll keep my fingers crossed and hope for the best.

A.