Tag: walking

Sunday Post | And I Would Walk 500 Miles

Posted May 4, 2024 by Haze in Sunday Post, Weekly Book Memes / 27 Comments

Welcome to the Sunday Post, a weekly meme hosted by Kimberly @ Caffeinated Reviewer to share weekly news and updates on what we’ve been up to on our blog, with our books, and book-related happenings. 

And I Would Walk 500 More

Last week was a total contrast with the week before, weather-wise. The weather was so nice two weeks ago and I walked so much outside, but last week it rained/snowed pretty much the whole week and I didn’t go outside at all. I did manage to get some exercise indoors though. I paced while reading, and I set up my computer on my walking desk so I was doing blog stuff while on the treadmill too, which is great!

Except that I got a bit of motion sickness and I had to take a lot of breaks.

I had wanted to post more, write some book reviews, but didn’t feel up to it with the motion sickness. I also had a lot to catch up on with replying comments and visiting blogs, and I’m still catching up, but I think I’m getting better doing longer sessions on the treadmill/computer, and I’m sure it will get easier once I get used to it. It’s a chore setting up the computer, so I can’t just switch it out when I get tired of walking and want to sit. I mean, I can, but it’s a whole lot of work. And I want to get used to this because I think it’s better for my health in the long-term.

It’s getting better already, see! I’m writing this post while at my walking desk!

In other news, husband and I finished watching Formula 1: Drive to Survive, and I finished watching Blown Away. We are now watching Physical: 100 Season 2 together, and I’m continuing with my 911 watch.

I also got caught up on laundry, yayyy, but of course it never really ends. And I took a break on cooking last week and husband cooked instead. He sautéed some salmon belly which was simple, but oh so delicious!

All the happy things:

  1. We had our final check-in for The Count of Monte Cristo readalong and had a wonderful discussion that went almost 3 hours!
  2. I managed to finish The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie in time for the book discussion and we had another great discussion for it, plus, I ended up really loving it and now I’m obsessed and have started reading the next book!
  3. I organized my work space – cleared some old papers, threw away stuff I no longer needed. More to go, but it’s a great start.
  4. The bad weather didn’t get me down because I still managed to walk a lot – indoors, but it still counts! I’m getting into the habit of pacing while I read and walking on the treadmill while working on the computer, and honestly, it doesn’t come naturally and I get tired easily, but I’m looking at the long term benefits.

The Books

Books I read last week:

  1. The Checklist Manifesto by Atul Gawande – I thought it was cool that a whole book was dedicated to the importance of having checklists. For the regular layperson like me, checklists are usually just part of the tools I use for convenience and keeping myself organized, and it has also saved me some stress many times, but in aviation, construction, and medicine, it can be the difference between life and death. I think checklists are worth implementing in any situation you can think of though, and I think the book is definitely worth reading.
  2. Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands by Kate Beaton – I didn’t expect such a heavy subject matter, but I think it was an important story to tell and I appreciate the author being vulnerable and telling her story. It’s given me a different perspective about the oil sands industry, and about male-dominated industries in general.
  3. Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel – This is my in-person bookclub’s BOTM for May, and I’d usually not read the BOTM so early, but I borrowed the book from the library before it was chosen for the BOTM, and I decided to just go ahead and finish it anyway. I might do a quick recap before the book discussion as a refresher.
  4. The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie – I just finished this book yesterday and I loved it! It was the highlight of the week! I had such an immersive experience reading it, plus having discussions about it immediately after. I’m still processing, or rather, I’m still half in the world of the book and I’ve already started on the next book, so I feel like I’m still immersed. Totally leaning into it!

Books I’m reading:

  1. Before They Are Hanged by Joe Abercrombie – Just started but already excited about reading more!
  2. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou – I’m reading this on audio. It’s only 3 hours and I’m already halfway through. It’s breaking my heart a little.

Last Week on The Blog

This Week

I’m so obsessed with The First Law Trilogy by Joe Abercrombie that I might try to finish the second and third books this week. Let’s see if I can do that!

How was your week? I hope you had a great week last week, and I hope you have a great one again this week!

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Sunday Post | So Much Walking

Posted April 27, 2024 by Haze in Sunday Post, Weekly Book Memes / 14 Comments

Welcome to the Sunday Post, a weekly meme hosted by Kimberly @ Caffeinated Reviewer to share weekly news and updates on what we’ve been up to on our blog, with our books, and book-related happenings. 

So Much Walking

Last week I found the perfect route to walk around my neighborhood, and as of this writing, I’ve walked it six times already! It also helps that the weather has been lovely. It looks like there’s going to be some rain this week, but I will do my best to go for walks when the weather is nice.

I also did a lot of cooking last week but forgot to take pictures except for a couple of them; steamed black bean pork ribs, and romaine lettuce cooked with fermented bean paste. They were both really yummy!

There was also miso soup, mapo tofu, gailan in oyster sauce, napa cabbage stir-fry, onion omelette, and I don’t remember what else. I’m so glad I’ve been walking a lot because I think I’d start putting on a lot of weight if I keep eating all these yummy food!

As for TV shows; we finally caved and resubscribed to Netflix again and we’ve been catching up on the shows we loved. I’m watching Formula 1: Drive to Survive Season 6 with my husband, and Blown Away Season 4 on my own. I love both these series so much and I guess I couldn’t resist when there were new seasons!

This weekend I’ve got two book discussions! I just had my in-person book club meeting Saturday morning for The Kite Runner, and the final check-in for The Count of Monte Cristo is happening Sunday morning! The discussion for The Kite Runner gave me a lot to think about, the book is just really good, and one of the other book club members got me interested in reading Khaled Hosseini’s A Thousand Splendid Suns as well.

I’m also looking forward to the discussion of The Count of Monte Cristo – there’s already been some discussion in the chats that incited some passion, and I’m excited for more of the same for the live discussion!

Overall, I’ve been in a weird mood. I told my husband there were times last week when I felt proud and productive for all I’ve managed to get done – the walks for my health, the reading and book reviews, the cooking, etc. But then I look at the things I didn’t get done – the laundry, organizing my library, half-done projects, and so many things I initially planned for that I’m not even close to starting, and I feel… antsy. I want to get them all done, and I know I have to sort of pace myself, work on my time management and energy. I don’t know if I’ll have to give up on some stuff, but I prefer not to. I’m just taking things one at a time and focusing on the good stuff.

All the happy things:

  1. I managed to catch up with all my book reviews!!
  2. I’m truly estatic for my new walking route – it’s so conducive to audiobook listening and I’ve just loved my walks!
  3. I finally finished books that have been on my TBR for ages!
  4. Two book club discussions in a single weekend! (And another one to look forward to next weekend!)
  5. The food!

The Books

Books I read last week:

  1. The Tao of Pooh by Benjamin Hoff – A 3-hour audiobook that went quickly, but what a joy to read! I feel like this is one I’d like to come back to over and over again.
  2. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini – So good, so heartwrenching, so many feels! It’s just so well-written!
  3. Slewfoot by Brom – It’s better than The Child Thief, and I love the illustrations, but at the end of the day, I don’t think this author is for me. I’m glad I got it read though!
  4. Blitz by Daniel O’Malley – I read this halfway and had to return it, and finally got it back again and finished it! I expected to see more of the characters we met in the first two books, but this story is about brand new characters and we don’t see much of the past characters. It’s still good as a story in itself though!
  5. I’ll Be Gone in the Dark by Michelle McNamara – This has been on my TBR for years! I kept putting it off because of the dark subject matter and not being in the right frame of mind to go there. I finally decided to get it over with, and I’m so glad I did because it’s really worth reading!

Books I’m reading:

  1. The Checklist Manifesto by Atul Gawande – A physician friend recommended this book to me more than 10 years ago, and I’m finally reading it now. I’m about 80% in.
  2. Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands by Kate Beaton – This is a graphic novel, and I’m really interested in it because I live in the Oil Sands province. I’m about 100 pages in.
  3. The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie – I’m only 2% in on this one, but I’m supposed to finish it in a week! 😭

Last Week on The Blog

This Week

I meant to read The Blade Itself last week, but I got distracted by other books, and now I’m not sure if I’ll be able to finish it in time for the discussion this upcoming weekend. It’s a longer book with a bigger cast of characters, I’ve been told, but I’ll try to finish it in time!

How was your week? I hope you had a great week last week, and I hope you have a great one again this week!

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