Sunday Update: Reading, Sports, Sleep, Habits

February is a very long very cold month.  Which is weird, because it's theoretically the shortest month, but maybe the cold makes it longer?  This about sums up my feelings towards February at this point: (Lilah and Nora's faces. Not smug Audrey who is just happy to be in a snow suit and also to be walking.  I should be more Audrey)

The family resemblance is strong.

This week included a two day and one night mom & daughter adventure to Bath, which was super fun for everyone. Also super tiring. 

Reading

I finally finished The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches and it was cute.  I mean, not groundbreaking, but sweet and cute and sweet.  I do like it when Pandemic authors decide to write super cute stuff and it makes me think of how shitty pandemic times were and how nice it may have been to write an imaginary world when the real world was just a trash pit.

My Libby hold for The Dictionary of Lost Words came, but before I could start reading it I was at the hotel and I didn't have internet so I found a sample of Listen for the Lie which I must have downloaded sometime from kindle and so I read the sample and I got super sucked into it and then I ended up buying the book for £3.  I never buy kindle books! I guess this is why they do samples?

Kyria has recommended mystery books before and it's not a genre I've been drawn to but this one is fun.  I have also never listened to a true crime podcast (it's based around a true crime podcast) but I can definitely see how one could get really into those as well.  It's currently 7:30 and I am hoping to be upstairs reading soon because there is a murder mystery to solve!

Sports

• Monday
• 30 Minute Pop Ride with Cody Rigsby
• 5 Minute Post Ride Stretch with Cody Rigsby (best line of this stretch - "if you ever called a phone number to order something off the TV then you are old and you need to stretch")
• Tuesday
• 60 Minute gym session with gym buddy
• 30 Minute Best Case of the Mondays ride with Ally Love
• 90 Minute Hot Yoga
• Wednesday
• 20 Minute 90s Ride with Bradley Rose
• Saturday
• 20 Minute Pick Me Up Ride with Hannah Corbin
• Sunday
• 30 Minute Full Body Strength with Rebecca Kennedy
• 20 Minute 90's Hip Hop Ride with Denis Morton

This week started with a bit of a bummer as I put my apple watch through the washing machine.   I use the apple watch primarily for a heart rate monitor during sports.  Somehow, miraculously, it survived! It was a cold and gentle cycle wash so maybe that helped?  Either way, well done apple!

Also, I decided to order myself a new set of dumbells.  I bought a set of 7kg (15lb) dumbbells last summer and it's not really heavy enough for deadlifts or squats.  I haven't spent all of my rachel hobbies budget this month (although it is only the 16th... so this may have been premature) and so I decided to go for a pair of 10kg (22lb) dumbbells for squats and floor press.  

Sleep
This week's average is 7.2 hours per night, but that includes one night which only had 5 hours of sleep due to random insomnia (I blame a full moon plus cycle-day 20 (TMI Apologies)

I have also had some 8 hour nights of sleep, and I'm still fairly sure my rolling average ideal is around 7.5 so I am getting close! The babies are generally sleeping until at least 5:30 now, and often staying in bed until 6am, which is amazing.  Maybe in the next few weeks I'll do morning exercise again.  Or morning anything.

Habits

It's been a decent week for habits.

As you can see, the guilt of flossing once in a week has carried me through to some flossing success this week.  Also, because I am a really exciting person, I was talking to my friend about dental hygiene and she said her dentist told her to consider separating flossing from teeth brushing.  I always brush my teeth, then floss, then use mouthwash.  Her dentist said flossing can be done in isolation and doesn't have to be done at the same time as teeth brushing.  My little mind is blown! Now I have floss at my desk in work and I just have to remember to use it once a day.

I am surprised how hard it is to remember to eat fruit.  I spend so much of my life chopping and prepping fruit for kids that I forget to eat it myself.  It's a good reminder to try and eat at least one piece of fruit a day.

As another aside, I once worked with (as in, professionally worked alongside, not hired) a sports physio who saw me eating a banana and said "you may as well be eating a chocolate bar - bananas have so much sugar".  When I eat fruit I often think of that line... and how crazy some sports physios are because I disagree strongly with that sentiment.  However, I do eat a lot of chocolate so I should probably eat more bananas.

Also, I just love daily planning.  Love love love it.  Love looking at old plans.  I haven't even started making prety daily plans.  Somehow writing out my day on paper, then having that paper next to me while I work, and also being able to write down random thought and tasks just makes my brain feel... good.  I am so enjoying my sprouted planner and I'll hopefully do a better update soon.

Have you read Listen for the Lie or The Dictionary of Lost Words?  Do you floss during teeth brushing time or at a different time?  Have you ever put a watch through the washing machine? Are you tired of February?