2025 Challenges - May

I was back to counter push ups again. The starting point was five push ups. On the 6th, it started increasing by one push up per day. Very late in the day, on the 26th, I realised my hands were in the wrong place. I had been trying to do this with my hands on the edge of the counter top. This meant my whole weight was on a 2cm wide strip on my hands. It was incredibly difficult, not in the arms and body, but in my hands.

Next month, I'm going to give this challenge another go, but get my hands in the right place, and see what happens. In addition, the Offspring was looking at my 'form' and asked if I was locking my arms on the upright position. This can cause elbow to hyper extend, and is discouraged. I'll be working on that too.

The other goal was to write every day again, and to use the writing prompt from WIP Snips. This has worked well, for the days when I've not had a migraine.

The writing book I started at the turn of the year has now been finished, as in every single page has been used. This might be the first time I have able to do it, ever. It feels like a new level has been opened - wonder what will be the 'boss' at the end.

Other challenges trickling along in the background are: listen to 52 audiobooks, finish 52 craft projects and try 12 new recipes.

Cheesecake Flling

Ingredients
300g cream cheese

2Tsp lemon juice

2 tsp vanilla extract
3 Tsp of castor sugar

Method
Cream the cream cheese until soft and free from lumps. Add the lemon juice and vanilla. Mix well. Incorporate the sugar. 

Spoon on top of a biscuit base, smooth the top. For a large cheesecake, bake at 180C for 30 minutes, for individual cheesecakes, bake for 20 minutes. Add the topping of your choice.

2025 Challenges - April

This month, the goals were to work up to 30 push ups against the kitchen work top, and to walk each day. 

After hurting my foot doing squats lasts month, I decided to be flexible. With this in mind, I've been walking, cycling and garden - anything to get me moving and elevate my heart rate counts. In spite of, or because of, the movement, by back is feeling rather happy.  It really likes the gentle wiggling of cycling and walking. Sadly, I was not able to keep it up all month long. Neither was I able to do the slightly harder push ups.

It feels bad to have fail at on both goals. However, despite not reaching the bar set, I have done more exercise than I have managed in previous months. This is a good thing. I need to keep reminding myself the goals are there to stretch me, and if/when I don't reach them it's not the end of the world. This really is a situation where it is better to try, and get part way, than not try at all.

More new recipes have been tried. Some were almost failures, at least by my standards. Others have been good, and will enter into our rotation of meals. A lovely new recipe (to me) was chicken breasts in a lemon, pepper and herb crust.

2025 Challenges - March

March was the month for movement, for stabilising shoulders, and improving my core. On the 1st of the month, it was one push up against the wall, and one squat. each day, one was added. There were a couple of days when sickness prevented exercising.

My shoulders and back really loved the exercises. I'm feeling stronger and more capable. A few days ago, I saw a video saying if you can do 20 push ups against a wall, you can do five against a bench. Turns out I can do 10 against a bench. I'll definitely be continuing with push ups next month.

Squatting is a different matter. My left foot has not enjoyed the experience. It was broken when the Elde Offspring was a baby, and it's re-asserting its 'I'm damaged' credentials now.

New month, more pushups, and also daily walks. 

2025 Challenges - February

 include the challenges for the month

2025 Challenges - January

Staying away from Bored Panda for a month was tricky for the first week, and then it became easier and easier. By the end of the month, there was no decisions to be made, it was just something I don't do anymore. If only all time sucky things were so easy to ditch!

Writing every day was also surprisingly easy.  It felt really good putting pen to paper and allowing the Honey Hill story to flow. I had thought all of the research had been done, but no, there's more happening almost every time I write. Thankfully, I've learned to mark my writing, and edit in the researched information.

2025 Challenges

No New Year's Resolutions for me. Instead, I'm planning on completing 25 challenges this year. The idea is to make small, but meaningful changes in my life, even if they just last a month.

I'd also love to read/listen to 52 books, make 52 items, and try 12 new recipes. 

Books: List of 2024's Books

1. Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree

2. The Very First Damned Thing by Jodi Taylor

3. Just One Damned Thing After Another by Jodi Taylor

Dublin 'Trilogy'

A Man with One of Those Faces

The Day That Never Comes

Angels in the Moonlight

Last Orders

Lemon Crinkle Cookies

Ingredients
INGREDIENTS
150g caster sugar
zest of 2 lemons
70g  butter
½ tsp vanilla bean paste (or 1 tsp vanilla extract)
2 medium eggs, room temperature
2 tbsp lemon juice (freshly squeezed)
240g plain gluten free flour blend (Doves Farm Free)

1 tsp baking powder

For rolling

100g granulated sugar

90g icing sugar

Method

Add the sugar to a large bowl, and zest the lemons over the sugar. Combine well the sugar and zest.

Melt the butter, and add to the lemon sugar. Also add the vanilla, and whisk to combine. Add the eggs, and continue to whisk. Next, add the lemon juice.

Mix the flour and baking powder, and add to the wet ingredients, using a spatula until a smooth consistency is achieved. The mixture will look like a batter at this stage. Chill in the fridge for 2 hours (or even overnight). This will firm up the dough to a consistency that can be rolled.

Preheat the oven to 180ºC and line 2 large baking sheets with parchment/baking paper.

Each cookie is made by taking 1 tablespoon of dough, and forming it into a ball. Roll first in granulated sugar, then icing sugar until the dough has been cover. If the dough is sticky, coat hands in icing sugar. 

Place the cookies on the lined baking sheets, about 5cm apart. Bake for 8-10 minutes, on the middle shelf. The cookies are done when the cracks no longer look wet or shiny. The cookies will be very soft and delicate immediately out of the oven. Allow them to cool on the baking sheet for at least 10 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.

Arm Exercises

1. Wall angels – 10 reps

Stand with your back against a wall and put the backs of your hands against the wall by your side. Maintaining contact with the wall, slowly slide your hands up the wall towards the ceiling, return to your side and repeat 10 times.

2. Incline press ups – 10 reps

With your hands on a bench/step/sofa, concentrate on lowering your body in a straight line. 

3. Knee tucks – 10 reps each side

While still in a press-up position, lift one foot and bring your knee up towards your chest. Return to starting position and repeat on opposite side.

4. Straight arm plank with shoulder touches – 10 reps each side

Still in the press-up position, widen your foot stance and squeeze in your torso holding a strong position, lift one palm off the floor and touch the opposite shoulder, return to starting position and repeat with the opposite hand.

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I've no idea if I'll be able to do all of these exercises, but I'll give them a go. Protecting my shoulders against dislocation is a higher priority than pretty arms.

And Bingo was it's name-o

 

"Bingo Wings" - the wonderful name given to flabby upper arms. It is thought to be derived from when women wave their arms in the air when they call out in bingo. It's a rather derogatory term.

However, as a woman in her 50s, I definitely have them, and I don't want them. I feel my expectations are pretty fair; the chances of eliminating them altogether is absolutely tiny, but I should be able to do something to improve them. Therefore, I'm using my standby motto, 'Make it a bit better'.

To this end, I'm going to employ SMART - Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound.

S - I want to reduce my bingo wings

M - an reduction of 0.5cm

A - I hope it will be achievable in the time frame

R - There's a dress I want to fit into comfortably, and smaller wings would allow this

T - I'm initially using a date of the end of August.

I've no idea if that is realistic. But I can but try. If it isn't then the contingency is 3 months. There should be enough time in that to see some benefits.

July Declutter

 

13th - 15th of July

30 items of rubbish removed from Offspring's bedroom

July declutter

 

1 hot water bottle
4 cuddly toys
1 jacket
4 toiletry items

July Declutter

1 cookery book
1 pair of shoes
1 packet of biscuits
3 new spools of thread
4 partially used spools of thread

July Declutter

Eight items from the linen closet were decluttered, along with two items from the Offspring's bedroom.

I realised there's quite a number of rooms that have now been decluttered. Done so far are the front entrance hall, the bathroom, the shower room, the loo, and the back vestibule.  Although the back vestibule is where the charity donations and items to be disposed of at placed before they leave the house.

It's also rather lovely there's not much more to go in the bedroom. I don't think there's much to go in the kitchen either, but there's quite some organising to do in there.

The places that need most work are the dining room, the guest bedroom, and the Offspring's room.But for the moment, I'm just going to be happy five areas are decluttered, and everything has a place.

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The hexagons for the Temperature Blanket now total 62. Only another 31 to do this month. If I keep up the pace of 2 hexagons per day I'll have to cut back to one per day in December. But, I can use the extra crochet time to start edging the hexagons and joining them together.

July Declutter

 

5 produce items ( moved from the fridge to the compost)
5 more toiletry items (thank you, Offspring)

And now the fridge and shower room are looking quite a bit better.

July Declutter

8 items of clothing (4 worn out, 4 donated)

2 toiletry items decluttered from the shower room (thank you Offspring for the declutterings)

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Not much of anything else has been happening. I caught what the Beloved had, and I'm now suffering with it.

July Declutter

 

A further 10 paper patterns are going out for recycling. I had not realised quite how many I had collected.

The forty items decluttered have not take up much space at all. However, it's a good start, and it tidies up the space a little more.

July Declutter

7 dressmaking paper patterns

1 reproduction of a painting 

1 children’s book in Italian

1 pair of trousers

At work, we are sometimes able to take home some dressmaking patterns. I've found myself collecting an number of them. So far, I haven't made a singe one of the patterns!  It's time for a cull.

When we were in Ireland, many years ago, I bought a reproduction of a painting from one of the museums in Dublin. At the time I was swithering, but the desire to have a tangible memory of the visit won out. The reproduction was bought, even through I was not in love with it. 

This poor print has languished in its transport tube since then. It's time to let it go, and to remember to only buy art I love, or that provokes joy. The giraffe in the entrance hall makes me smile each time I see it. That's the sort of art I need and want in my home.

July Declutter

Decluttered:

3 balls of yarn
3 bottles of juice
4 cans of fish

Why yes, I did venture into the kitchen. How did you guess?! The food and drink have been donate to the local food bank. There's no sense them sitting on my shelves when someone else could have use of them.  

It's time to start making regular donations to the food bank.