Kimberussell.com | a blog by Kim Russell

Fit Journal — March 2019

Mar 21 2019

I’m taking an online class to help me be accountable w/r/t fitness: physical and emotional. This is my (tardy) monthly journal entry.

What are some of your expectations that do not match up with reality?

I expect myself to be an all-or-nothing person. I expect to be able to, when dieting, completely give up all junk food. This isn’t the case. This NEVER has been the case. I don’t know why I think this can the case.

Let’s take my favorite snack chip ever. Cool Ranch Doritos.

They’re not good for me. They’re not good for anyone, really. When I try to be “Healthy Kim” I send the Doritos packing. Eventually (usually February) this backfires. Because when I ban Doritos from my life…I eventually break and eat a LOT of Doritos.

The solution for me is moderation. I can snack in moderation. I can drink wine in moderation. (Shut up, I can.) I can eat Hershey Kisses in moderation too. (But not pizza.) Therefore on Monday morning, I took the bags (yes plural, not a typo) of chips and divided them up into small serving-size packs. Done. And you know what? I’m completely fine with blowing 150 calories on 28 grams of Doritos, and I am ALSO completely fine with only eating 28 grams of Doritos. Who knew?

I knew. Why I do NOT listen to myself more boggles my own mind.

What’s working:
Water drinking, eating the lunch I bring to work, leaving desk for work, flossing, washing face, work goals

What’s not working:
Regular exercise, nail biting (lost that when the gum around my dental implant got infected), guitar practice, did not lose 3 lbs in February. AND I gained back the 2 I lost in January.

Recommitting?:
Still in it. I downloaded My Fitness Pal and to my joy, saw that it adds calories to your daily allowance according to how much you exercise. Gamechanger. Your girl Kim is extremely food-motivated. The weather is getting nicer so I can start walking again. And I’m going to scour yard sales for a crappy bike and mix that in.

And I’m going to listen to myself more.

Previous Fit Posts
February 2019: Fit Journal – February 2019
January 2019: Where have I been? What do I want?

Angry Man Farm: Sprouts!

Mar 19 2019

Two weeks ago, I planted seeds. And they’re sprouting! Yes, I know this is how nature is supposed to work, but I’m still pretty new at this so it’s nice to see things working as intended.

Impatiens at the bottom. Slacker seeds: lavender, rosemary, mint.

The tomatoes were first to sprout. Shortly after, the peppers, basil, dill, and impatiens sprouted. The tomatoes quickly grew too tall for the little greenhouse so I moved them into a foil tray. And, because I have been an idiot in the past, I started labeling the base of the foil tray so I know what is what.

It was in the 70s two days this week and I used that opportunity to check on last year’s thyme plant. Sweet merciful crap! It’s still alive! I trimmed back some of the less healthy stems, but I think I have myself a permanent thyme bush now.

I moved the daisies to the front porch, but the winter was not kind to them. I trimmed the dead branches down to the dirt level. Maybe they’ll grow back? They’re supposed to be perennials.

And I have garlic in a pot out front that I planted last fall. The Internet tells me that they went dormant over winter, and I’ll have some garlic to harvest in early summer.

This weekend, I’m going to buy some wood to build a raised box for the yard. I also want a wheelbarrow, but that might be overkill.

Gratitude 2019wk11

Mar 17 2019

Sunday: A lovely family gathering for Nephew B’s first birthday!

Monday: Um. Um. It’s been a day. How about that Entenmann’s cake that I drowned my bad day in? Gotta love a good Entenmann’s cake.

Tuesday: Grateful that Murphy didn’t get sick from the 2/9ths of leftover Entenmann’s cake that he pulled off of the table and snarfled. That dog.

Wednesday: Spent time with Nephews A and B. A is great at imaginative play. B is a great smiler.

” i had some cake and was ok can i have some pi too?”

Thursday: It was 70 degrees! I walked to the train after work. People were greeting each other outside like they hadn’t seen each other for ages!

Friday: The massacre in Christchurch leaves us all breathless. How can I blog about what I’m grateful for when there are such hateful assholes out there? No cake can make me feel better.

Saturday: My little seedlings continue to grow! Two weeks after planting, I have both varieties of tomatoes, both varieties of peppers, dill, basil, and impatiens.

I've been blogging for over 16 years and I'm apparently one of the few over-40 female bloggers who haven't sold out to THE MAN yet; hence this blog remains quirky, homespun and unprofitable. No big.

~~Wife. Dog lover. Slob.~~ I live in Southern New Jersey with my husband WM, and our dogs Ollie and Murphy. I work a fun (really!) office job in Philadelphia. So if you're looking for a childless, slightly round, marginally boring GenX woman's blog to follow, you've come to the right place! :)

Kimberly's bookshelf: read

The Awakening

by Kate Chopin

Welp, that ended abruptly. The version I have includes additional short stories, which I thought were part of the book, so when this story ended, I thought the second half of the book would be the others' responses to ... the events that...

tagged: fiction, women, and own-ebook

We Should All Be Feminists

by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

So very good. Beautifully written, and really hits home. It was refreshing to read about feminism in a viewpoint other than that of my white, middle-aged, ladyfriends. :) Every middleschooler should be issued a copy of it. It was supe...

tagged: nonfiction, borrowed-from-library, and women

Hidden Figures

by Margot Lee Shetterly

tagged: nonfiction, history, and women