Week 1: 2017 Goal Review, 2018 Goal Setting and Weekly Recap: 1/1/2018 - 1/7/2018

I set a few goals for 2017, they weren't especially elaborate, as 2017 unfolded they were exactly right.

Mileage goals on Strava:

Run:  1,600  1,467 Missed by 133 miles - this taunted me in November and December when I watched it go off the rails and did nothing about it.
Bike:  2,017  2703 Blew it away by 686 miles!

If you take the adage: 1 running mile = 3 bike miles I came out ahead by 96 miles.  I'm calling this a win.  I will admit I felt like the bike mile goal was a slight sandbag as my 2016 miles were 1,598, not a total sandbag though!

The goals I laid out in my blog post, here.  

1.      Every race is fun.  I'm not going to place, I don't have the drive to do the work to achieve this.  I do think that races are for everyone, from the top 10 to the bottom 10. If I can't enjoy it, I'm not doing it!

Highlights:

I bailed on 7 Bitches when it was getting horrible, one day you bitches, we will meet again!!  Plus really I felt horrible watching that poor trail gets so destroyed, it made me very sad what we as humans can do to something so beautiful in the name of what?  Chasing a PR?  Conquering a fear?  

My biggest challenge was the Newport Christmas 10K, I signed up for it because it is a fun race.  And now I can say I’ve been chased by a cop car in a race!  

My favorite race was the Dirty Girl 10K in New Hampshire.  Looking forward to doing this one in 2018, wonder who will be the Dirty Dude?

Nailed it!

2.      Run, Walk, Ride, Hike, explore and enjoy the great outdoors every single day, in one way or another.

I didn’t get out running, walking, hiking, or riding, every day, most days.  There were days I was stuck inside because of work or driving to MI.  However, there wasn’t a single day where I didn’t leave the house, so that counts right? 

My favorite times are being in the woods with the dogs, the imaginary husband, friends, and alone.  

Mostly nailed it!  

3.      Rest when I need it, and try and not beat myself up for it.

This was a stretch goal for me.  It will always be a stretch goal for me.

Something to continue working on!

4.      Drink good beer.

Oh yes!  Lots and lots of good beers consumed, and if it wasn’t good, I learned the art of the drain pour,  Cinci Cougar, Founders Lizard something or another – WTF were they thinking - or finding someone who WOULD appreciate it.  The Dirty Girl Mint Stout from Right Brain, Rachel enjoyed that, I know I didn’t!

Nailed it!

5.      Read books.

Lots of them, 44 according to Goodreads, across all sorts of subjects!!

My favorite was “A Man Called Ove” by Fredrik Backman

Nailed it!

6.      Knit.

I am most proud of all the sweaters, 15 going to keep babies warm, and yes, the sweater I knit for myself that I actually like and wear!

Nailed it!

So what about 2018?

I think I made a pretty good list and will carry it forward to and add in:

Be present.    I allow myself to get very distracted playing WWF and I can waste hours on Facebook and Instagram.   Time to limit my screen time, I did make an effort towards putting the fing phone down or closing the lid on the laptop in the last quarter of 2017, I still need some work.  I noticed how much it bugged me when I was out with friends and they couldn’t put their screen down or kept checking them, what was so much more important or interesting?  I think it is really a habit/addiction and less not being interested in the company you are with.


Weekly Recap:  1/1/2018 - 1/7/2018

Monday:  Happy New Year, took a zero to start the year. Not a harbinger of things to come, more I feel like crap and it's cold and it's my last day of vacation to hang out with the dogs and why don't I tick a few more things off my to-do list.

I was having some peanut butter on a banana for breakfast and these two strolled in.
Gus will have some banana and peanut butter
Jax thinks bananas are gross and only wants the peanut butter

Tuesday:  Back to work, still cold, Tuesdays aren't running days, so yeah!  I took the Bootcamp class at lunch and then Spin after work.  My body was not at all thrilled about this and decided to 'flare', after starting to feel the coldness come on and my hands and face feel like they were on fire, I turned up the heat and hunkered under a quilt till the imaginary husband called timeout after an hour and turned the heat down.  I NEVER turn up the heat and am always telling him it is hot. Things got all sorted out and I felt like myself by morning.  Clearly, I overdid it.  Clearly, my body said, um bitch, no.  Lesson learned.  I can do double workouts, just not the first day back after a week off!

 Wednesday:  Back to hills with Ro.  It was warmer out, 20F, which is warm compared to the temps of late.  We had a great hill work out and my continuation on the road to normal continued. Something to be said about 90 minutes with someone who gets it and gets you and has her own hurdles to overcome.  She turns 59 in a few weeks and it is not sitting well with her, not at all.  I'm not sure what to do to help her, other than remind her she is more active and fit than most 30-year-olds.

His new coat.
While he looks dapper he won't get to wear it again for a while.

Thursday:  Well how about that a snow day!  Work closed!  I was planning on "working from home" anyhow.  Now I didn't have to stay uber tied to the computer and could get a few things done around the house.  Like laundry, it was going to be warm enough to do laundry in this drafty old house, it is a real thing, I'm not making it up.  A few meetings and some documents to proofread and that took me till about 4:00 p.m. and I was ready to get outside and do some shoveling.  Not that it was going to amount to much of a savings of effort on Friday morning, however, it was good to be out and doing some core work!

Gus snuggles

Friday:  The neighbor, Bob, was up and out by 7:00 a.m. snow blowing, we were out by 7:10 a.m. to get the little bit left over shoveled out, the front walk and to the street shoveled out, and get a path dug to get Dave's truck out.  Yes, my shoveling was purely window dressing, however, it was necessary for me!  Still, we could help Bob with the shoveling around his wife's car and the front walk while he took care of the across the street neighbors sidewalk.  This is kind of the whole community thing.  Plus I think men have a thing about moving snow around, just sayin'.

I did a 5K on the elliptical, what a weird machine, definitely low impact and I worked up a good sweat.  Better than freezing my face and other parts outside.  

Gus got a short walk, he was very excited for a walk and to put on his sweater and we got 0.05 of a mile and he was not at all happy with his cold feet.  We turned around and logged a whopping 1/4 of a mile.  I found some boots for him, and he tried them on later in the evening, completely unimpressed, but I think once he puts the full picture together it will be much better.  Certainly once Diesel put the picture together he was sold on the boots for any treks to the beach.  Jax gets it once he is out in the snow and his paws aren't freezing.  The tiny mincing steps Gus was taking clearly mean the problem was with his feet.  Gizmo only cared if he got snow between his toes otherwise, he went wherever whenever.  Sage was the same way.  

My out of control yarn collection housed my old ski goggles!
This is a big score! They will be perfect riding the bike in the cold temps to keep my eyes warm and prevent them from freezing shut!

Saturday:  It was pretty clear something is wrong with Gus and it's not just the weather.  Off to the vet.  Some neurological tests showed inflammation in his discs,  his feet weren't responding correctly to some simple tests.  The vet pointed out the swelling on the back of the spine.  His sweet new coat was pressing on this, making him super uncomfortable, my assumption.  They gave him a shot of carprofen, drew blood for some tests, Lyme panel being one.  I was sent home with a couple bottles of pills (carprofen (pain) and methocarbamol (muscle relaxer)) and the instructions limited activity for 4 - 6 weeks and NO STAIRS, crate him when you go out so he stays very sedentary.  A lot of tears was the result of this, I was injuring him further by walking him.  Those of you with pets totally will get the guilt induced beating about the head and neck.  He likes having a downstairs Gus Hut so that wasn't an issue.  The stairs, well he can't take himself to the bathroom so there is no poop eating, and he gets to go out the front door and use the front yard, which is something Diesel, Sage, and Gizmo before him all got to do.  Pretty soon after Gizmo died Gus started waiting by the front door for before bed potty time.  18 months later his dream has come true.  

I didn't do a lot, but I did get all my activity time per my watch, let's call that good, shall we?

Jax needed some blog time!
Love his little snaggle tooth!

Sunday:  Gus is up and at 'em looking spry and happy, a little wiggle back in his brown nub of a tail too!    Always a good way to wake up in the morning.    The vet called, two things popped on his blood tests, first:  he has anaplasmosis a tick-borne disease causing the symptoms he is exhibiting, neither of us remembers him getting bitten, but who knows and one of the protein panels was high inflammation or cancer, we are going with inflammation.  If that mass on his heart were cancer, it would have shown it's ugly head in some way or another and nothing.  Off to the vet to pick up some Doxycycline and start him on a course of that.  Gizmo used to have Lyme flares from time to time and his flares were usually him limping on his back left leg, so this doesn't seem unusual at all.  Hopefully, we aren't being viewed as horrible dog guardians for having dogs with tick-borne diseases, sometimes you just don't get all of them and the medication schedule gets off by a week...

George Ross posted that he was looking to ride fire roads in Arcadia, doubtful anything would be packed down enough to get on single track.  I raised my hand and met him at 1 for a 6ish mile ride.  We tried some of the snowmobile tracks, the snow was not packed down enough.  It's nice to be out with another newbie to the mountain biking in winter experience.

Photo by George Ross
He kindly asked I give him a second so he could get a shot of my riding over the bridge.
Thanks, George, he always does make me look like I might know what I'm doing.

Mileage:

Feet:  10
Saddle:  22
Not stellar...

Books:

" Norse Mythology" by Neil Gaiman
Finished.  Excellent book on Norse Mythology. Very entertaining. I'll be looking for more by this author.

"Buddha in the Attic" by Julie Otsuka
Finished.  I wasn't sure what to think about this book, so I thought about it. It wasn't the story of one woman coming to America as a 'mail-order bride' being surprised the picture of the man and the occupation of the man did not match what their letters said and their lives until they were met with suspicion and deportation after December 7, 1944, it was the story of many women. Some tragic, some inspiring, some meh, all of them told by a list. Really an interesting way to tell a story, or rather stories. I'd like to know more about these women and their experiences.

"Big Little Lies" by Liane Moriarty
Started

Knitting:

Finished a couple sweaters for a friends grandbaby and another friend's first baby started a sweater for a friend first baby.

Summary:

Not a bad week, not a great week, a week.  It was cold, I was nervous about going out in the cold, and every time I didn't feel any worse for it.  

Sincerely,
Beth, looking forward to what this year holds!

Weekly Recap: 12/25/2017 - 12/31/2017 and 2017 Recap

Ok so maybe not everyone starts their week on a Monday and ends on a Sunday.  This is how it worked out best for me...

Monday: Spend the day with family, my middle brother hosted Christmas and my Mom's birthday celebration.  

My youngest brother and my nephew
This is an AI track, but only if you set the cars to the AI setting so they don't go off the track.
The cars were all over the family room and the boys were having a grand time.

Tuesday:  Drove back to RI

The snow on the berries, so pretty.
From the back 80 at my parent's house.

Wednesday:  A day to get some exercise.  Gus put me through my paces with a nice long walk after Dave took me to a nice heavy breakfast, the rest of the day was spent with his family.  His cousin does a two-day event, they have a perfect home for entertaining 14 people.  We don't stay, dogs, and sleeping in our own bed.  The evening ends with Left Right Center or breaking the Peppermint Pig.  I bought singles for Left Right Center, but we ran out of time.  When we break the pig we tell what we were happy for in 2017 and what we are looking forward to in 2018.  Dave and I aren't really mushy people, clearly, as he is referred to as my imaginary husband and he finds this hysterical, he gave thanks for a list of things and ended with having a supportive wife.  Well crap, someone was cutting onions next to me...

Quite the couple...

Thursday:  The day started with what sounded like a freight train coming down the street and an arctic blast of wind, breathing hurt when I went outside.  Dave braved the temperatures with heaters for his biking boots and handlebar mitts.  I stayed inside other than to run a few errands.  I'm not ending the year on a high mileage note, good on ya if you did!

Jin and his new bike!
Finally no training wheels!!

Dave dragged me out of my cocoon to do some more Swedish Death Cleaning.  It was a very small space, the entryway/vestibule but damn did we cram a lot of stuff in there.  A lot was pitched or donated, and more put away where it belongs, leaving the minimal stuff we need in there.  I was up and down the stairs to the basement and the attic and got a bit of exercise so I did feel better.  Funny how he manages to figure out how to make me do what I need to do, to not be a grouch.  Not too bad for an imaginary husband, eh?

Deer trails through the snowy prairie

Friday:  Not going to warm up and my fingers and toes have started becoming really really not so fun in the cold.  I was hoping for 20F but the temperature didn't get there.  I got the dogs out for some walkies.  Gus longer than Jax.  The Imaginary Husband wasn't home when I got home, odd...  so I took Jax so they didn't have to go out in the dark.  Dave was out on his mountain bike, I was a bit surprised he wasn't home, figured he may have gone for a beer with the guys.  The subsequent text and phone call explained why.  Their new Glenn took a header off his bike and needed to go to the emergency room.  He spent a few hours with him in the emergency room.  For those who know the area, it was by the inchworm bridge on Sammy C's, at the triangle rock.  He must have smacked his face on the rock and they found him propped against the tree next to the rock.  Something to be said for a full face mask...

Made me think of Mikey and his love of both snakes and cold.
Ha Ha Ha

Saturday:  SNOW!!! Yeah!  I planned my day based on when the snow started, and it started early!  Yeah!!!  First up was a bike ride at Barn Island.  I begged off the Imaginary Husband putting on my new knobby front tire on Barney so I could get out there and not have to worry about flats.  We didn't go far, we did stay mainly on single track and I took a pretty good tumble, I was going to slow, and Arte Johnsoned myself onto a rock on my hip and my elbow and a few branches nearly missing my face.  It's crazy how this happens in slow motion.  I've learned to relax into the fall and that helps.  

Gus' new winter coat arrived.  I thought he might like a sleeveless vest type coat better.  He still didn't seem completely comfortable.  Of course, I panicked he's not doing well. He has aged a lot in the last year, considering he has a heart condition and a year in dog life is like 7 in people years I talked myself out of where I was going with that train of thought.  

The Imaginary Husband has also noticed he's been a little less spry on his right back leg.  Then we remembered!  He tried to pass me going down the stairs two weeks ago and he slipped and fell/toppled a little bit.  Must be that he has an injury that was probably healing when he wasn't walked while I was in MI and now that I'm home and taking him on long walks, in the cold, yeah....  so we will go for shorter walks so the old guy can heal up!  For now, this is what we are going with.  He's not failing in the hips like Gizmo, it is more favoring the left leg over the right.

They are ridiculous.
Gus on the couch and Jax on the dog bed.

Sunday:  Slept in, shoveled the walk, and did my own Swedish Death Cleaning on linens.  I am surprised how much stuff I can squirrel away in the steamer trunk, under the guest bed, and the linen closet.  Found a sweater my favorite aunt knitted for me and it fit perfectly and a vest my mom knitted for me, and the sweater my mom's boyfriend gave her in High School, I think she will be receiving this in the mail soon.  She is very heartbroken over everything they lost in the fire. This may be something from the past she will enjoy.  

No miles, however, I did meet my activity goal per my watch, I'm satisfied with that.  Competing with others on Strava got me down so much last year, I need to do my own thing in my own time, their goals aren't my goals, their requirements aren't my requirements.  This will be an inner fight until my dying day, it needs to not be a benchmark which I measure myself.  As always, a work in progress.

Credit to Westerly Town Hall
Such a beautiful photo of our Town Hall and Christmas Tree

So to end the  year some metrics:

Mileage:

Feet:  1,470
Saddle: 2,694

If you noticed my Lbs column in my chart, I'm down 20 since I started tracking the first of January 2017.  I gained most of this over a two year period.  It was time to get serious, and I did.  While 20 lbs loss over 12 months is not a spectacular achievement, it is an achievement in developing a new relationship with food and beer.  I honestly think goals taking the longest to achieve, in this case, to be back to my weight of 2012 (minus the months in 2014 when I was 10 lbs lighter and looked emaciated), are the hardest to earn.  This, of all my achievements, will be the longest lasting.  Losing weight is the easy part, maintaining that loss is the hard part, clearly, as I gained 20 lbs over the course of 2015 and 2016.

But let's get back to  the "important" stats:

 Books:

I honestly don't know how many books I've read.  I'm sure Goodreads can give me that answer, frankly, that isn't a contest, either.  I am done with metrics, I read what I read, and however long that takes and whatever it is, that is my thing.  I love when other people review books and have read some great books as a result.  I've also read some not so much my thing books as a result.  Right now a friend is questioning my taste in books as they read one I dearly loved.  I'm good with that.  I really thought they would love it, well love one part of it.  I don't regret recommending it and they don't regret reading.  It's all good!

Knitting:

I knitted a lot this year, what exactly, I'd have to look through my knitting notebook.  The bulk is finishing two sweaters for myself, only one I love, the other I need to find someone who will love it and it will love, (I have a person in mind) and lots and lots of baby sweaters.  Each was given away.  Pay it forward. I love knitting these sweaters, it is a pattern adapted from a knitting icon, Elizabeth Zimmerman, to me, the Patti Catalano of knitting.  

All in all, this was a good year, I'll do a goal review in January, much like work I have to find my goals to compare what I actually achieved to what I set out to achieve!  And like work there is nothing tied to those goals, my raise, if I even get one, is far below the cost of living increase and does not reflect anything I've accomplished. 

I'm glad you've stuck with me another year or joined me on this journey.  

Sincerely,
Beth, who drops the last bomb of 2017, I finally know what's been my problem for most of the last year.  I have Lupus.  I probably won't say much more about it, however, it explains, to me, a whole lot and leaves a whole lot of questions.  To all who live with their body attacking and betraying them, it really does suck, doesn't it?  Keep on keeping on and smile, fake being healthy, no one gets it if they can't see it on the outside.  

Weekly Recap: 12/18 - 12/24

Monday – My week started with two days in NYC.  

I took a long walk after work to look at the light displays in NYC.  I’ll share those pictures here, it is so pretty.  The temperatures were mild and I really enjoyed my adventure.

Chrysler Building

Tuesday – The General Counsel award ceremony!  Finally!  It takes 4 months to plan this event and this time I wasn’t getting an award however I was on the planning team.   It takes a team to get this done and get all the details correct.  It went very well and I am proud to be behind the scenes for this.  A holiday volunteer project with my workgroup and then cocktails and tasty things at The Kimberly.  It was all super nice and I ate way too much.  My boss and her boss laughed when I asked if it was ok that I got a beer.  I really don’t like wine or champagne.  I work with a great group of people.  I’ve been at my current company 18.5 years and the last 6 in the Legal Division have been the best by far, the work, the leadership, and the people. 

A very exhausting day and I was happy to crawl into bed and pass out.

Rockefeller Center tree
Wonder why my edited versions disappeared.... oh well...

Wednesday – Back to the routine!  Ro is back for a couple weeks before she goes off on her next adventure.  We did our hill loop and I was a little concerned I’d be dragging her down, but we weren’t too far off our usual pace!  So maybe I’m not as out of shape as my mind thinks my body is?  It was nice to catch up.  We’ll get in probably two more walk/runs before she is off again for CO.  

Gus got me out for a quick walk, very quick!  He was on task as his walk was late and I think he wanted to get to bed early as much as I did.  I was so exhausted!

Saks Fifth Avenue light display

Thursday - My first day of vacation until I go back to work on January 2nd. I didn't use up all my vacation time in 2017 and won't make that mistake in 2018!!!

Saks again - this is set to music and really magical

Friday - Drive out to MI. 

Tiffanys

Saturday -  I got my mom out for a walk around the forest and a short trip to get Dave's Christmas present (Bells Two Hearted Ale)

Largest Menorah

Sunday - I went out with the intentions of maybe 3 miles and I'd see how I felt.  It is fing cold.  I made about 3/4 of a mile on the road and then ran the trails in the forest for a bit, the hunters were out so I stayed far from where they were.

I really liked this

Mileage:

Very low with travel and visiting.  Hopefully, not too much of that will show up on the scale next week!  Ha ha ha....

A whopping 15.7 on my feet and nothing in the saddle.  









Knitting:

Finished the girl sweater I started last week and started a new girl sweater.  My mom had some buttons in need of a home those will be put to good use!  These two also have homes!

Reading:

Finished: "The Identicals" by Elin Hilderbrand, it was good, a take-off on the Parent Trap with a twist, the twins are adults and the parents do not get back together.  All of this was juxtaposed against the 'twin' islands of Nantucket and Marthas Vineyard, the differences in the twins and the islands.  A good light read with a happy ending.

Finished: "On Trails: An Exploration" by Robert Moor, very good!  A biography of trails! Fascinating. From the earliest existence of trails to the longest trail and everything in-between where they come from why they exist how they are used, the friendships created, the book unfolds much as a hike unfolds.  I don't buy many books, this one may end up in my library.

Finished: "Long Journey Home: A Young Girl's Memoir of Surviving the Holocaust" by Lucy Lipiner, I think this was a Kindle freebie, definitely worth reading.  An inspiring story of heartbreak and survival before during and after the Holocaust told from a young girl's point of view.

Finished: "Midnight and the Bright Ideas Bookstore" by Matthew J. Sullivan, well done!  A mystery and a family drama all wrapped up in a who done it with crazy clues.  I enjoyed this very much.  

Started:  "Norse Mythology" by Niel Gaiman, I'm enjoying it so far, I know bits and pieces of Norse mythology, this is putting structure around it for me.

Started: "Beneath a Scarlett Sky" by Mark T. Sullivan, another Kindle freebie, I'm not sure how invested in this I'm going to get.  It is about the Nazi occupation of Italy, something we don't hear much about.  It will be worth the time to read.

All in all, not a bad week mentally, physically, well we all have them where we don't get to do as much as we usually do for one reason or another.

Sincerely, 
Beth, a little late in publishing with travel.  Enjoy the pictures!