Back in the saddle

Today is the first day I felt good since coming down with the flu Sunday night. I forced myself to work out. My lungs are still achy from coughing so I told myself that if I couldn't do my promised 2 miles/10 minutes, that would be okay. I pushed myself and did 2.1 miles/10:30. Baby steps. I'll build up some more as I go along.

Bookwise, I am am 20% complete with my challenge. The year is 21% complete. I'm much of the way through one audiobook and one Kindle book though, so I'm more or less on target. I'd still like to get a lead though. I started to read a book and found I really couldn't stand it. I was only 7% of the way through it when I pitched it, but I still lament wasted time.

My cat chewed through my earphones this morning while I was in the shower. I told him how betrayed I felt that he presented such a setback to my challenge. He looked remorseful for a moment, but it could just as easily have been about some other yet-undiscovered crime. Or it could have been gas. I replaced the earphones today. I got to Best Buy 3 minutes before closing. Win!

Just so you know

I did NOT come down with the plague just to get out of exercising.

Challenges

Reading challenge: 18% done. Year: 20% done. Still working on catching up.

Exercise challenge: 10 minutes/1.8 miles on bike yesterday. None today. Ate wings today. Feeling tubby and sad about feeling tubby. My clothes are shrinking and my scale tells vicious lies. Motivated to use the bike right now but it is late and the bike makes squeaky noises and the kids are asleep in the next room. Will work out tomorrow when I get home from work. I mean it!

Parenting challenge: Thomas had the kids all weekend over here and he was running a pretty horrific fever the entire time, which made him weak as a kitten and snowed out for the entirety of the weekend. W. was still on the tail end of his bug, and M. may or may not be coming down with one too. I mediated many disputes between twins. I fixed snacks a few times and cuddled with them while they watched netflix. I let them play with the Legos in my Creationary game and tried not to be uptight as I watched the pieces scatter everywhere several times. I procured and distributed about 12-15 glasses of water for assorted Burbach males throughout the weekend. I fetched 6 cups of tea and 3 doses of Tylenol. I took about 9 or so temperatures. I'll admit that I fled a few times - once to go to the laundromat, once to play a few card games with CJ, and again tonight to go to my Pathfinder game.

I still think I suck at stepmomming, but I did manage not to raise my voice. I wasn't even mean or anything... except for when I turned off the Wii mid-game in response to prolonged bargaining attempts after I warned that the terms for bedtime were non-negotiable. Then I was treated to a chorus of that sound that kids make that is not quite full-on crying... it's like a more sustainable form of "lite" crying that kids do when they think they'll be at it for a while and want to conserve energy to get through the long haul. It began to sound harmonic and almost soothing after a few minutes, like monks chanting. I helped them get their jammies on while they wound down.

Honestly though, the boys did really well over a tough weekend. They just saw their Grandma die in the hospital on Friday night. Then they spent a weekend watching their Dad shivering under a blanket, glassy-eyed and weak, and running a 103 temp. In their little 4 year old brains they're doing the math and wondering if Daddy is going to die. Considering that, the boys were saints.

Starting small...

Well, no... really I'm starting big and want to get small. But I will take small steps.

Today: 11 minutes/2 miles on my new second-hand-exercise-bike-with-arm-thingers-on-it (henceforth to be referred to as SHEBWATOI). Um, I also helped carry the damned heavy thing from the SUV of the woman who sold it to me and was kind enough to transport it. So that's like some lifting and stuff, too - right?

My commitment is to start with at least 3 days a week, at least 10 minutes/2 miles each time. I know it's a wussy beginning, but I will work up from there. I'd like to get into good enough shape to think buying a real bike is a good idea, and that a hash trail laid by Hand Solo is endurable.

Update on the reading challenge: Counting just the completed books, I am 16% of the way to my goal. The year is about 19% complete. I have to step it up. Perdido Street Station is seriously just CRAWLING. I don't know why everyone raves about it. I mean, it's a good book, just not as enthralling as everyone made it out to be. I'm 90% done with that, so I think a couple of big pushes should do it finally. I think I'll probably read something smutty next, just to burn through something fast.

I've been accused of cheating since several of the books I've "read" have been audiobooks. I still maintain that since they are read aloud word for word and are not adapted or interpreted, they still count. So, nyah.