week 37 /

Music

Listened to Mats Strandberg’s “Sommar” talk and was reminded of this excellent EP:

App

OK, so Stronglifts. I still like it (clean, nice looking design). But why does he want you to do squats EVERY SINGLE WORKOUT? My legs still hurt from the last one, then I have to do it again, just heavier? 😦 (and then bike home? ffs.)

Purchase

I have officially bought workout leggings. Now I just have to gather up the courage to wear them to the gym. (Thanks Fabletics for having plus sizes that not only look good on pictures, but also while wearing!)

 

Advertisements

week 36 / fermented fish & transporting dangerous goods

Insta/Twitter/YouTube/Netflix

Personal

This week I spent 3 days in training, redoing my IATA dangerous goods regulations for work. The exam has to be passed every other year, and I nailed it again (95%, thanks for asking). It meant very long days out of town, and that I didn’t go to the gym.

Saturday we had friends over as they had agreed to try fermented herring with Dutchie. I had provided ALL sorts of disclaimers before, to make sure they knew what they got themselves into. After the first bite, the other woman in the company said “j’adore!” (not sarcastically), so that was somewhat surprising.

Purchase

Fall is upon us, and I ordered a yellow rain poncho to eliminate one of the excuses I made for not going to the gym this week.

Workout/progress

Nein! I was knackered and made up all kinds of excuses not to go. New week, new opportunities.

August wrap-up

The books

Lars Wilderängs Stjärnfall (Stjärnklart #2)
Jørn Lier Horsts Grottmannen (William Wisting #9)
Lars Wilderängs Stjärndamm (Stjärnklart #3)
Sara Lövestams Som eld
Jørn Lier Horsts Vinterstängt
Jørn Lier Horsts Bottenskrap
Sarah Morgan’s One Summer in Paris

Well, look at that! Apparently I just read in Swedish now? (The last book was also in Swedish, just used the English one when logging it.) At least I’m reading.

The shows

Quicksand (finished off)
Derry Girls – season 2!
Explained
Charité
The Big Bang Theory (finished!)
Jessica Jones
The Good Place (finished!)
The Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj

Can we talk about how fun Derry Girls is? I love them all, but especially sister Michael. I have already watched season 1 more than once, and am being really careful not to finish season 2 too soon.

Can we also talk about how horribly Big Bang Theory ended? For like a whole season, there was a recurring discussion between Leonard and Penny because he wanted kids and she not. Then in the last episode of the show she has suddenly just changed her mind? And it’s just explained like “before I didn’t, but now I do”? Is it that provocative that a women doesn’t want kids? Geez.

The movies

Falling Inn Love

It was a cute (Netflix produced) movie, but could they not have found a cuter male lead? Yes, sure, shallow comment, but I mean it.

The workouts/progress

So so. Obviously already told that I didn’t work out at all during vacation, but I have been a couple of times since we got back. Not yet back to normal schedule, but I’ll get there!

week 34 / imagine that this is a clever title

Food

While in Sweden I had pizza one day, and with it “pizzasallad”. It’s super common there, and is a “salad” made of cabbage with a dressing of oil and vinegar (plus spices). Some people don’t like it at all, but I love it. In the past, I’ve tried recreating it at home, but never with any particular success. Now, I’ve decided to try again, and to improve my odds, I’m trying two different approaches at the same time. A report will surely follow, but this is how one of them looked on Thursday morning:

Podcast/episode

I’m slowly working my way through this year’s “Sommar” in Swedish Radio. The talk I enjoyed the most while listening (so far) was by Stina Wollter, but the one I’ve referred to afterwards was this one (link) by Anne Sverdrup-Thygeson where she talked about insects.

Music

Personal

We went to friends outside of Utrecht for good food and board games. A good time was had by all.

Workout/progress

I went to the gym! It was the first time in a month, and I could feel that afterwards (like, biking home after doing those squats was not in any way pleasant). It was tough, but went OK, so pretty happy I even went.

July summary

Ok, let’s pretend it’s 3 weeks ago, and then read this post.

The books

Jenny Colgan The cafe by the sea
Akwaeke Emezi Freshwater

Two measly books! (And the first one I’ve read before, but Lisa recommended the reader of the audio version, so I thought I’d give it a go, and made it through.) Slump month.

The shows

Designated Survivor
Big Bang Theory
Queer Eye
Fresh Prince of Bel Air
Quicksand (org. Störst av allt)

OK. For someone who likes to watch 1 show at the time, this seems like a mess, but it’s actually working out alright. Designated Survivor surely took an odd turn from season 1 to season 2, but I’m alright with it. It reminds me (a little bit!) of the West Wing now. The Big Bang Theory also picked up in the last season! I’ve actually laughed a few times now, which didn’t happen in the previous 2-3 seasons. Queer Eye is just nice to watch if you’ve had a crap day, or you know, read the news.
When I grew up we didn’t have the channels where Fresh Prince was on, but we were thrilled when we managed to catch an episode when visiting grand-mom. Now it’s on Netflix, so I want to see what I missed. And Quicksand is based on a book I really enjoyed. And the author’s dad highly recommended the adaptation. (Like, they didn’t ask him because he’s her dad, but he’s a famous author and criminilogist in Sweden, so it was a side-question during an interview.)

The movies

The Mask You Live in
Dark Phoenix

week 28 / meh

Phew, last week was pretty awful, and I need vacation, so I’ll leave it at this:

 

Workout/progress

This week was pretty terrible, but I did manage to get to the gym one time – Friday morning, and it was pretty fabulous. I was there for an hour, and it was me and 1-3 others.

week 27 / rant + workout

Personal

I’ve been in a bit of a funk the last week. I’d guess working out would help me, but when I’m like this, I really don’t want to go to the gym. Not energy level wise, but anxiety level wise. “I’ll do things wrong and will be corrected” (btw, wtf? that’s good right? they’re nice people, giving advise in a very friendly manner). “I’m fat and unfit and people will look at me” (uhmmm, no, no they won’t. and being fat is not a fucking crime.)

And then I realized what the problem this week was. As exemplified in these two images:

(Although, to be fair, the second one is also me lots of other times.)
AND HOW DID WOMEN DEAL WITH THIS WHEN THEY DIDN’T HAVE APPS TELLING THEM IT WAS COMING? SERIOUSLY?

Workout/progress

I went to the new gym! I’ve officially restarted Stronglifts (through Daily Strength) since it matches my gym’s beginner’s plan. And I snapped a picture (with a lot of floor?) while waiting for the next bench press set:

Can I also talk about how much I enjoy that they prioritize safety and really tell people that they SHOULD use those straps/bars when they lift?