Book Bonanza, Pull-Up Potential, The Mighty Ostrich

I find myself with a sudden collision of books all bumping and bouncing into one another, and as a result I am having a bad case of book ADD. This never used to happen to me. I would read two to three books a week easily (this is before I discovered Tomb Raider) and never felt the need to read more than one book at at time. But you see what happened was, “Grown-Ups” by Marian Keyes finally came out on Kindle, just at around the same time that her long-anticipated sequel to “Rachel’s Holiday” was released, and I downloaded the first one before knowing about the second one’s release date, then greedily starting reading both. This is in addition to the newest paperback edition of “Fiction” which arrived in the mail at the same time, in tandem with me trying to finish “Total Power,” a thriller about the take-down of the US power grid by terrorists. This is not even to mention “The Fountainhead” which has lain dormant in my Kindle since last summer. I need calm down, take a deep breath, and think methodically. I shall make a list, read one book at at time, and check them tidily off of my mental list. Or maybe even a physical list. Lists always help me stay on track. I need a whiteboard.

In fitness news, I was very excited yesterday when at the gym I was able to do two sets of four reps at 35 pounds of assist on the pull-up machine! My goal upon leaving the house had been to get to four reps at 45 pounds of assist, but I managed it at 35, and I am finally starting to see the pull-up goal as achievable rather than just aspirational. I had been plateaued for a long time and I was getting discouraged. But I managed to hold myself up on the bar for a record seven seconds the last time I met with my trainer, and that gave me a little boost of encouragement, so I put more time into the lats and biceps this week, which maybe helped. At the nudging of my trainer, I also upped my calorie and protein intake. She suggested I “supplement” with drinks and bars, both of which I have always disliked, but I decided to try again. I’ve learned through experience that I am not going to succeed with powders. I hate mixing them and will just give up after a while. But I found a sample pack of ready-to-drink protein drinks online in different flavors, and ordered that. The first one, vanilla, I found undrinkable after a few swallows due to a bizarre aftertaste, but I have three more to try so I haven’t given hope on this particular brand yet. 

I also ordered venison bars. I know that sounds a bit over-the-top, but I detest most of the sweet, grainy protein bars that are on the market, and I am a fan of beef jerky, so thought venison bars might fit the bill. They are...interesting. A little startling at first, but not bad. Game meats are definitely an acquired taste, but I think I can get used to it. I ate venison here and there as a kid because we lived in deer-hunting country for a time, so I’m not totally unfamiliar with it. And once a few years ago I documented on this blog my foray into making my own energy bars, which I may try again. We’ll see if any of this helps. Oh, also--I had a dream recently wherein a tall Greek woman at a carnival told me I was dehydrated, so I guess I’ll up the water intake, too.

It’s been a working weekend for me, so this post will be cut a little short. In lieu of my nattering, enjoy this video by the wickedly funny Zfrank1 about the mighty ostrich. I found it weirdly fascinating:

--Kristen McHenry