My usual mile this morning…
…and then I quickly got my NaNo chapter done before getting on with my current bit of the long house project, which mostly involves moving stuff around so that I can move other stuff around. There is a strategy to it, but it’s a bit slow and frustrating. However, I can now see a bit more floor space than I could earlier in the week, so there is progress.
Hoping to get a bit more done tomorrow!
Today’s earworm playlist:
Traditional – ‘O Come All Ye Faithful’
Just a mile this morning…
…as I had a busy day ahead. Run went well though as I’m feeling a bit less fatigued!
I spent most of the afternoon writing and doing day job work, but I’m also trying to spend 30 minutes a day working on the house at the moment. Housework and de-hoarding have taken a real back seat this year (mainly because we haven’t had many visitors, who are usually my main motivation for trying to get the house to look nice!), and I’ve tried various strategies, but none of them have really stuck. One of the ones that didn’t work for me did have a maxim that has stayed in my mind, however: why is it that only visitors deserve to see your house at its best? Keeping on top of the house is really hard for me because there are so many other things that take priority. But I’d like to be more comfortable in my home (especially as I spend 99% of my time in it these days!), and so I’m starting again with yet another online method, despite the many other projects I’m juggling at the present time.
I’ve had a few days off videogaming as there are too many other things going on at the moment. I’m going to carve out some time for it tomorrow evening, though, as it’s absolutely the most relaxing thing I can do for myself.
Today’s earworm playlist:
Judy Garland – ‘Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas’
Panjabi MC – ‘Mundian To Bach Ke’
Ludwig Göransson – ‘The Mandalorian [Main Theme]’
Duran Duran – ‘Friends Of Mine’
Three miles today…
…which was a nice distance for midweek. I’m enjoying having a proper running structure again. It stayed dry this morning as well!
I’m doing a bit of household-stuff-sorting again. I’ve decided to try and sell most of my old clothes that I don’t wear anymore online, in order to try and make a bit of cash for more leggings and clear some space in the house for more leggings. The first lot to be sold are the clothes that are still in good condition but don’t fit me anymore since I lost weight, and that have been sitting around in the garage for the last two years. I’ll be spending part of the weekend photographing them and putting up the listings. I also have quite a lot of clothes in my drawers and wardrobes that will probably go the same way, because I’m just not wearing them anymore – this pandemic-stricken year has been all about finding the most comfortable and cheerful clothes possible, and so stuff that’s a bit more fussy in terms of fastenings has fallen by the wayside. I’ll keep the quality timeless items as I know I’ll want smarter clothes again one day, but I really do need to start decluttering again as I’d quite like there to be a time when I’m no longer depressed by the untidy mounds of stuff in my house.
Any clothes that I can’t sell, I’ll donate. They all need to be out of the house in the next few months.
A last-minute bit of day job work came in today, so I’ll be finishing that tomorrow, and hopefully starting to get the Hallowe’en decorations up 🙂
Today’s earworm playlist:
The Running Channel – ‘Run With Me’
Journey – ‘Don’t Stop Believing’
Two miles this morning…
…and I’m feeling really happy with my running this week – I was a bit concerned at the weekend because my legs were feeling really stiff and didn’t seem to be easing off, but they’re doing a lot better after a few days of recovery runs. Another two miles tomorrow before building back up over the weekend.
I was mostly doing day job work today, but I also spent some time making plans for house decor. The frames arrived for a large wall project I’m going to be working on over the next few weeks – I just need to wait for the photos I ordered from Freeprints so I can get on with things! Unfortunately the photo prints are being sent via Royal Mail (see Thursday’s post for my current woes on that subject), and we haven’t had a delivery on our street since Saturday. Fingers crossed for tomorrow.
I did, however, put up a framed print that has been sitting around upstairs for the two and a half years since we moved in. One step closer to covering up our horrible magnolia walls (they will all get painted or wallpapered eventually, but it’s going to take a long time).
I am properly enjoying my evenings in now that autumn is officially here (meteorologically speaking). I’ve got the incense and candles going on the hearth (need to stock up!) and am appreciating the earlier darkness. I know a lot of people miss summer when it’s gone but I am not one of them – I’ve been looking forward to this time for months.
Hoping for another productive day tomorrow… and maybe another item up on the wall!
Today’s earworm playlist:
Rizzle Kicks – ‘Down With The Trumpets’
Sacre – ‘The London Marathon’
Jared Emerson-Johnson – ‘New Location Unlocked [Midtown Remix]’
Another recovery mile this morning…
…followed by a nice walk in the early September sunshine. The first of September is one of my favourite days of the year – it’s the start of meteorological autumn, my favourite season, and of the part of the year starting with ‘-ber’ – the best four months of all. This autumn will probably feel a bit different, just as this spring and this summer felt a bit different, but I’m hopeful that the magic of the season will still be there. I’m still running a GNR, even if it’s virtual; the BBC are doing a truncated and socially-distanced Strictly series (the first participants are being announced tonight!); and of course no pandemic can stop me from binge-watching horror films and eating all the Hallowe’en chocolate during October!
I’m also excited about my 24-hour London Marathon challenge in October, which will keep my training focused for another month or so (Geth and I are also booked for an actual live race – the North Tyneside 10k – on the 18th of October, but we haven’t heard yet if it’s going ahead or not…).
Lots of other hopes and ambitions for the autumn months, including house decor (a few bits and pieces arriving this week!), writing (I have three potential projects for NaNoWriMo) and coding (I can’t decide which game to work on next, but I would like to release at least another two this year).
It should be a good autumn, even if it’s a quiet one. I might even make an effort to go find a Bonfire Night fireworks display this year (I usually can’t be bothered!).
In the shorter term, it looks like I’ll be fairly busy with day job work over the next few weeks, so September will probably fly by… as usual!
Today’s earworm playlist:
Jared Emerson-Johnson – ‘New Location Unlocked [Midtown Remix]’
I managed a ten-mile midweek run today…
…which is not something I usually find time for during the week! I need to get the miles in before the Virtual Great North Run, though, which takes place in about two and a half weeks’ time.
I’m thinking a lot about putting stuff on my walls again. This is something I think about a lot (need to put that picture up! need to paint that wall! need to wallpaper this room!) but rarely get round to. Next week is meant to be a bit quieter (as it stands!), so maybe I’ll get round to doing something then. Presuming my attention hasn’t wandered over to something else!
Today was similar to yesterday. In addition to my run, I managed a walk, a yoga session, and some day job work. Tomorrow will be similar again, though my run will be a lot shorter and I will be doing my day job work first thing so that I can get it back to the client promptly.
I’ll also maybe order some of that stuff for the walls…
Today’s earworm playlist:
The LAs – ‘There She Goes’
The Lancashire Hotpots – ‘Ebay ‘Eck’
Another mile run this morning…
…as I was testing out a new pair of shoes – one of two new pairs of running shoes that arrived this week! Since I started running every day, I have been burning through running shoes a lot more quickly, so I’ve decided to start getting older models on discount sites every few months. It means that I will have a better range in my rotation (meaning less chance of injury, which is always a bonus), and if a pair doesn’t happen to suit me, then I won’t have spent quite as much money on them as I would have if I’d bought the latest model (and any not-quite-so-suitable pairs can be used for short runs anyway).
It was quite a relief to be able to relegate my Brooks Transcend 6 to the ‘gardening’ pile. They were already worn down to the foam when I bought my Brooks Adrenaline 20 in Inverness in March, and having continued to rotate them with the Adrenalines over the last five months, they now have absolutely no tread left at all after 550 miles. Meanwhile, the Adrenalines themselves are starting to wear to the foam at the edges after only 200 miles, so maybe Brooks shoes just aren’t as resilient as they used to be (my first pair, which were Brooks Vapor 4, did 650 miles and still have plenty of tread on them). Anyway, it’ll be interesting to see how my new pairs fare in comparison – I’ve bought a Saucony pair and a Mizuno pair, both of which are brands I’ve been meaning to try for a while.
Anyway, in non-running-shoes news, I’ve managed a good clean of the house today, and got a bit of day job work done for a client as well. Looking forward to seeing Kieran and Lisa, who are popping in for lunch tomorrow – it will hopefully feel like a nice bit of normality after so long!
Today’s earworm playlist:
Toto – ‘Africa’
Dave Cummins – ‘LINC’
Just a mile today…
…because I woke up late again. I need to set an alarm tomorrow as I’m falling behind with stuff a bit this week.
After my run, I spent pretty much the rest of the day building garden furniture. Geth ordered a set the other day and it arrived yesterday, so I put it all together this afternoon as we have guests (!) coming for lunch on Friday. It’s still meant to be very warm and dry by then, if a bit cloudy, so it’ll be nice to sit out in the fresh air.
No videogaming tonight as I have too much admin to catch up with. Hopefully tomorrow will be a bit easier time-wise… if I don’t sleep through that alarm.
Today’s earworm playlist:
Duran Duran – ‘Rio’
Ashford & Simpson – ‘Solid’
Tuesday morning’s mile today…
…and for once I was up at a reasonable time, so the run was done and dusted before 9:30am and I was able to get on with my coding. I’m quite excited about the project I’ve been working on since the last Adventuron jam finished – it’s fairly contained, as it’s the opening chapter of what I hope will grow into a longer game, but there’s still a lot to code and test. However, it’s very nearly finished now, so I’m hoping to be able to put it through its paces tomorrow.
Just finishing my admin now and then I will squeeze in a couple of hours of Paper Mario before bed.
Same again tomorrow I hope! With possibly a slightly longer run, but possibly not. We’ll see.
Today’s earworm playlist:
Depeche Mode – ‘Behind The Wheel’
Lisa Lougheed – ‘Run With Us’
Duran Duran – ‘Winter Marches On’
John Williams, Michael Land, Peter McConnell and Clint Bajakian – ‘Indiana Jones And The Fate Of Atlantis: Opening Theme’
Nintendo – ‘Toad Town’
DJ Fresh and Rita Ora – ‘Hot Right Now’
Another rest week mile today…
…and then on to the day’s main form of exercise, which was cleaning the house. I didn’t manage everything, but I did get the bulk of it done, and will hopefully manage to keep on top of it a bit better over the next while.
More jam entry playing tonight. Just a few more chores and writing tasks to do tomorrow, and then I will really be able to enjoy the weekend!
Today’s earworm playlist:
Idina Menzel – ‘Into The Unknown’